When I was in Year 4, my family decided to travel around Australia for 18 months in a caravan. Our family of five packed up everything and off we went! I have a vivid memory of going down Uluru on my bottom because it was so steep. Once I reached the ground, my little bike pants had holes in them. I thought it was the coolest thing! Another vivid memory was the long, long, looonnnnggg road trips. Those endless dirt roads didn’t give much hope to this little 8-year-old. So as you can imagine with three kids in the car, the statement ‘are we there yet?’ was asked a lot!
Sometimes our kids can get caught up in having destination syndrome. This is a preoccupation with the idea that happiness is somewhere else, namely the destination! Whilst they may not have the endless dirt roads that the Northern Territory offers, mid-Term Three can certainly feel like it. The holidays feel like an eternity away, and if you’re a senior, so too is Graduation!
Whilst the destination will still be good, there too is hope and joy to be found in the in between! Each and every day, your child is being shaped and moulded. Just like a shrub needs to be trimmed back to produce new growth, or silver needs to be refined to produce its purest form, grit is required from our students on the journey to get to the destination.
Romans 5:3-4 says this… “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
So when your students asks, are we there yet? Or perhaps a more commonly asked form, can I have a day off? Remind them that perseverance develops character, and character hope! The grit required for the day-to-day is shaping and moulding your child for an even better arrival at the destination!
Rachel Baker
