This house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy.

We have a plaque I found on my travels in Holland with the above saying. The Dutch are somewhat known for being quite fastidious about cleaning and I loved how this plaque showed that one must have a balance in even this simplest of qualities.

It seems to me that in this time of COVID 19 and now with the third wave upon us we need to have some of this perspective as we move ahead with many of the new ministry guidelines. Clearly, we want to be a healthy school! We want to be a place where students can come and feel that it is a safe place for them. We want our parents to feel confident that when they are sending their children to our school we are doing everything in our power to keep our school clean and healthy.

However, one could go overboard on this and create a place that is so harsh in its measures that the emotional health of the school and our students become compromised. One could become so fastidious that both parents and students become increasingly afraid and paranoid about everything. This would compromise healthy learning at the school.

Thus, we seek to find a balance at Valley Christian School where one tries to have a healthy yet happy school. In this balance we will find a way to have a school that promotes both learning and health! Healthy students also need to be happy students in order to learn.

I would also encourage us as we celebrate Easter to remember that Christ, on his last night with the disciples, gave a new commandment. After washing their feet, he commanded them to “Love one another, as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” John 13; 34, 35

It is my fervent hope that as we navigate these next months, and hopefully get to a time where we can have school without the specter of COVID looming over us, that we will do so in love. I know that there are many different opinions about COVID in the world and in our school community. May we find a way to love one another even if we have these different opinions. May the community of Mission see the love of Christ shining out for all to see.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Ron Donkersloot