March 2021
It always amazes me how much the aura around students and staff changes when we first start to glimpse nice weather again. Obviously, we had some beautiful days early in March, which caused an uptick in the mood and outlook that our students had. This can also lead to some restlessness, since everyone wants to be outside, but I think I’ll take that over the crabby moods dreary winter can bring.
I think there is another factor in these moods, though. As spring enters, and winter fades, our focus is renewed; our target becomes clearer. We can all see the end of the school year, and with it, the promise of new things: being a grade older, summer activities, an opportunity to reflect, and more. In the doldrums of winter, it can be incredibly difficult to see those things that signal something new. We get bogged down in the present and immediate future; we can’t see past the week.
In many ways, our faith walk can become captured by that same doldrum effect. We’re in the middle of life; we can’t see past the next few days or weeks. We can’t see past our immediate problems to the goal of Christ at the end. This is something I always notice when speaking with folks of older generations. They have such clarity about their purpose; such unwavering vision about the goal. The Church History class is reading The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis right now. As we read together, I find myself thinking back to this theme: how do I always get caught up in what is immediately going on, instead of focusing on the big picture, like the Spirits in the book? Because, honestly, life is so much clearer when I see, or try to see, the big picture.
Our theme this year, fix your eyes on Jesus, has brought us back to this point repeatedly. When our eyes stay on that goal, when we see the big picture through Christ’s eyes, life becomes clearer. But when we allow ourselves to be distracted by what is going on around us, like our culture teaches us, life gets muddled.
So, I’d like to invite you to join DC as we continue to remember to keep our eyes on Christ through this 4th quarter, despite what our society tells us, despite what our own minds tell us. It will be hard work, no doubt, but it will be well worth it in the end.
Jeremy Boer
DCS Parents, Students, Teachers, and Staff,
As I thought about what to write looking back at first quarter, I kept coming back to one thing:
thankfulness. This struck me as something a little strange, since this particular period of school has been
mostly uncharted waters for all of us as educators. There is so much unknown right now, so many
questions we’d like to have answered that we can’t answer very well. What happens if...? What will I do
when…? What is the school doing about…? There are so many hypothetical situations that could come
up that it seems hard not to despair when we get lost in their myriad.
And yet, I feel thankful. Perhaps it is the fall season that makes me feel this way. Perhaps it is the
perceived closeness of Thanksgiving. Some of that might be true, yes, but it goes much deeper than
that.
First, I’m thankful for our staff at DCS. They’ve done a wonderful job of staying alert, being ready to
change something at a moment’s notice based on the surrounding happenings. They’ve stayed positive,
making sure that students feel welcome and loved during this strange year. They’ve done more
preparation this year than ever, and they’ve done so with a lot more stress than ever, which I very much
admire.
Second, I’m thankful for our students. I don’t think I can overstate how much we actually missed all of
them at the end of last school year. It was very hard to try to teach and not be in the same room. Yes,
learning still happened, but we missed what makes school, especially DC, great, and that is the
relationships that we build around the educational process. We love having the building open again so
we can work directly with our students!
Third, I’m thankful for our community. Your support, whatever your current role in our society, is
invaluable. You’ve made working at DC a true joy, no matter what is happening in the world at large.
Your heart for Christian education is evident through the immense giving you’ve already demonstrated
this year! I hope and pray that we can continue to work together to train our young ones in His Word!
Finally, and most importantly, I’m thankful for the guiding hand of our Father. It’s during troubled times
like these that I am truly thankful for the goodness and promise of God’s sovereignty over the world,
and I know that he has held our community in the palm of his throughout this time. Have we had
struggles and bumps? Absolutely, and we will continue to have them. But we know that He continues to
lead and guide us; all we need to do is trust that His plan is good and strive to find how our lives can
better reflect His will.
I hope you, too, can find some time to reflect on how God has guided you during this year. Beyond that,
in a year in which it is so easy to dwell on the negative and what didn’t happen, I hope that you can find
the positive things God has done and continues to do in your life!
Thank you!
Jeremy Boer, CEO
