Bright Spots

Monday, 13 June 2011 16:09

In their engaging book, Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, Chip and Dan Heath discuss the concept of "bright spots," success stories of things that work, "...successful [ideas and] efforts that are worth emulating." As I ponder the end of our 118th school year this week, I cannot help but think of the "bright spots" that have occurred in the life of Eastern Christian School this year.

We have been richly blessed by the people that have been part of the life of our school this year. We are thankful for the:

• 769 students who have been entrusted to us this year, including the 95 seniors graduating from Eastern Christian High School on June 15.
• Families with whom we have had the incredibly rewarding opportunity to partner as they endeavor to meet the responsibility of providing an excellent, Christ-centered education that prepares their children for lives of service.
• Faculty and staff colleagues who have dedicated their work to the awesome responsibility and high calling of working with our students.
• Incredibly generous volunteers, donors, and supporting businesses who have given of their time, talent, and financial resources to enable the mission of Eastern Christian School.

Our academic, artistic, and athletic programs have had a year of notable accomplishments. We are thankful for:

• Persistent hard work that was invested by our students in learning about the wonders of all facets of God's marvelous creation and the way that it works.
• Learning that has taken place about the core values that we hold dear as a community of Christians with the unique opportunity of confronting and influencing the culture of one of the world's largest, most diverse and influential cities.
• The beautiful sights, sounds and movements created by our artists, musicians, actors, and dancers - beautiful reflections of the incredible creation in which we have been placed and a heartfelt offering of their best to the Creator.
• A year of wins, losses, and championships for our athletes and teams, but especially a year of giving God the glory in the midst of hard competition.

We have experienced another year of ample provision in which our needs have been met in ways too numerous for us to count. We are thankful for:

• The gift of life and protection from physical harm and injury.
• An incredibly supportive school community and generous financial support.
• Wonderful business success for our new business ventures - ditto, Eagles Camps, and Eagle Solar.

We recognize that all of these "bright spots" have one thing in common - they are generous gifts from the hand of our gracious Lord. Thanks be to God for the "bright spots!"