“The true meaning of life is to plant trees

under whose shade you do not intend to sit.”

                                                                        Nelson Henderson

Dear Parents,

Christian education is best summed up as an act of faith.  It is like Nelson Henderson states, planting a tree, under whose shade you will likely not sit. 

What we do.  If our kids are trees in process, there are some things we can do to assist their growth.  We can plant, water, prune, protect for some time and we can watch and cheer on growth.  At Unity and our entire network of Christian schools, parents entrust their children to us.  We partner together in the growth process.  We are a team, church-home-school, committed to providing the best growth conditions. Isn’t it wonderful, that it is not just up to the parents?  Or just the school? Or the church, to ensure the best growth conditions?   We can rely on each other.  It is good to remind us of our triangle of support.  

What God does.  If our kids are trees in process, we can also rest in faith that they are God’s workmanship, and it is His Spirit at work in them and His timetable that matters most.  We can do our best to provide the optimum growing conditions, but the tree all along is God’s.  As parents, and grandparents, many of us can tell stories where growth in some of our kids takes time, sometimes painful time.  It is good to remember the tree belongs to God.

Trees, rooted in Christ, are giving off shade that our world needs more than ever.  We can aimlessly obsess over the news of the day: ISIS, measles, 50 Shades of Grey and news anchormen who lie.  Or we can fix our minds on God’s Kingdom and invest our efforts in life giving, tree planting efforts for Christ. 

We invest in Christian education by writing checks, going on cookie walks, attending soup suppers, sitting on bleachers.  We invest our time serving as volunteer Board members, committee members.  In the grind of it all, it is easy to lose sight of the goal. Your time, talent and treasure, when applied to the Church, the home and the school, is not in vain.  When we look back we see thousands of stories of growth.   

Planting is an act of faith.  Planting brings glory to God. In faith, we keep planting.  John 12:24  tells us, “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. We plant and we trust that in God’s time trees will grow and shade will be given off to many. 

W. Dykstra