What is this Kindergarten thing you speak of?
How did we even get here?
Just five short years ago, we were dreaming of the day we would finally hold our baby girl, and today, I'm about to order her school uniforms for Kindergarten. It's true what they say..."the days drag, but the years fly."
Amber Joy 'graduated' from Pre-K in May and we had a plan for next school year. It was a good plan. We had met with her teacher and decided, for some really good reasons, that we would wait to let her start Kindergarten. We had talked to the school system. Her dad and I both went to public school so we were happy with our "good" plan. We had discussed possibly doing private school in middle school, but we found out about the Kindergarten readiness program in the public school and decided it would be a good fit for her: only 15 students and a teacher who was highly recommended by people we trust.
But God. God had better than good in store for our girl. God had her best in mind. Please don't read this as me saying no one should go to public school...that is not my message at all. My message is this: trust the Lord with all your heart and don't lean on your OWN understanding...acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He will direct your path (Proverbs 3:5-6). That path looks different for all of us.
For Mother's Day, my mom wanted to go get her nails done. As we were sitting there, I told her I still wasn't sure about school for next year, even though we had a good plan. A lady at our church teaches Kindergarten at a small private school, I said, and I was going to talk to her about her opinions and Amber Joy in particular. Mom asked where she taught and I told her the school was called Redeemer. Mom began to giggle. Confused, I asked why she was laughing and she said, "my friend at church has been praying specifically that Amber Joy would go to Redeemer." This stopped me in my tracks because I know my mom's praying friends. They're the kind you don't want to pray for you unless it's something you REALLY want, because it's likely to happen.
She proceeded to tell me that her friend is a stand-in grandmother to a young girl who attends Redeemer. Her friend also loves Amber Joy and decided a while back to begin praying that Amber Joy would go there. I had no idea until that day that any of those prayers had been said.
A few days later, Justin received notification of his merit raise for the next fiscal year. It was a fair amount and we were thankful. Fast forward a couple more days and I spoke on the phone with the Kindergarten teacher at Redeemer. At the end of the conversation, I said, "oh, by the way, how much is Kindergarten tuition?" Her reply stopped me in my tracks. It was the exact amount of Justin's raise...to the dollar.
Mom and I visited the school and were so impressed. It is the Classical model of education and the class sizes are small. Justin had wanted Amber Joy to go ahead and start Kindergarten, but I had worried about the class sizes and the amount of hours she would go every week (35). Redeemer provided an answer to all of that: she will go only half days and there are 10 kids in her class! Personalized attention, short school days, a place where all the teachers know all the kids and families, and a Christian environment...we couldn't have asked for more.
God has amazed us through this whole process. On the day after I first visited Redeemer, I took Amber Joy to the public school where we had intended to register her for Kindergarten readiness, in case something fell through. As we pulled into the parking lot, the bright sunny sky literally clouded over and it looked like the bottom was about to fall out. As we walked toward the school, Amber Joy said, "mama, will there be a picture of Jesus at this school?" I shook my head.
The next day, when we went to Redeemer for Amber Joy to have her evaluation, she peeked into the office where there was a canvas of Jesus behind the desk. She exclaimed, "There he is, I found him!"
We're excited about how God has worked this out and can't wait to see how our girl blossoms next year.
Just five short years ago, we were dreaming of the day we would finally hold our baby girl, and today, I'm about to order her school uniforms for Kindergarten. It's true what they say..."the days drag, but the years fly."
Amber Joy 'graduated' from Pre-K in May and we had a plan for next school year. It was a good plan. We had met with her teacher and decided, for some really good reasons, that we would wait to let her start Kindergarten. We had talked to the school system. Her dad and I both went to public school so we were happy with our "good" plan. We had discussed possibly doing private school in middle school, but we found out about the Kindergarten readiness program in the public school and decided it would be a good fit for her: only 15 students and a teacher who was highly recommended by people we trust.
But God. God had better than good in store for our girl. God had her best in mind. Please don't read this as me saying no one should go to public school...that is not my message at all. My message is this: trust the Lord with all your heart and don't lean on your OWN understanding...acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He will direct your path (Proverbs 3:5-6). That path looks different for all of us.
For Mother's Day, my mom wanted to go get her nails done. As we were sitting there, I told her I still wasn't sure about school for next year, even though we had a good plan. A lady at our church teaches Kindergarten at a small private school, I said, and I was going to talk to her about her opinions and Amber Joy in particular. Mom asked where she taught and I told her the school was called Redeemer. Mom began to giggle. Confused, I asked why she was laughing and she said, "my friend at church has been praying specifically that Amber Joy would go to Redeemer." This stopped me in my tracks because I know my mom's praying friends. They're the kind you don't want to pray for you unless it's something you REALLY want, because it's likely to happen.
She proceeded to tell me that her friend is a stand-in grandmother to a young girl who attends Redeemer. Her friend also loves Amber Joy and decided a while back to begin praying that Amber Joy would go there. I had no idea until that day that any of those prayers had been said.
A few days later, Justin received notification of his merit raise for the next fiscal year. It was a fair amount and we were thankful. Fast forward a couple more days and I spoke on the phone with the Kindergarten teacher at Redeemer. At the end of the conversation, I said, "oh, by the way, how much is Kindergarten tuition?" Her reply stopped me in my tracks. It was the exact amount of Justin's raise...to the dollar.
Mom and I visited the school and were so impressed. It is the Classical model of education and the class sizes are small. Justin had wanted Amber Joy to go ahead and start Kindergarten, but I had worried about the class sizes and the amount of hours she would go every week (35). Redeemer provided an answer to all of that: she will go only half days and there are 10 kids in her class! Personalized attention, short school days, a place where all the teachers know all the kids and families, and a Christian environment...we couldn't have asked for more.
God has amazed us through this whole process. On the day after I first visited Redeemer, I took Amber Joy to the public school where we had intended to register her for Kindergarten readiness, in case something fell through. As we pulled into the parking lot, the bright sunny sky literally clouded over and it looked like the bottom was about to fall out. As we walked toward the school, Amber Joy said, "mama, will there be a picture of Jesus at this school?" I shook my head.
The next day, when we went to Redeemer for Amber Joy to have her evaluation, she peeked into the office where there was a canvas of Jesus behind the desk. She exclaimed, "There he is, I found him!"
We're excited about how God has worked this out and can't wait to see how our girl blossoms next year.
A great article and Provide 3:5&6 is one of my favorite verses. This article is a great father's day present. I Love You! Dad
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