Are you a SUMMER person - someone who just loves the intense heat of the day and the warm evenings that welcome BBQ dinners, swimming and ice creams and long family holidays?

Or are you more of an AUTUMN lover - a person who welcomes the crisp, cool mornings and who stands in awe of the golden glow as the sunshine beats down on the leaves of the trees that are scattered with different shades of reds, oranges and yellow?

Or maybe WINTER is more your ‘thing’....a time to rug up with scarves, hats, puffer jackets and gloves and a warm fire at night?

Or is it SPRING that makes your heart sing, as you see the cherry blossoms begin to bloom, or the myriad of colours appear in the garden as the new buds burst out of the ground and sprinkle the beds with the sign of ‘new life’?

Regardless of your preference, each season has its own beauty and there is perfect synergy in the way God's creation was put together to balance out the year. They are an important reminder of the way God has created everything according to his good and perfect plan.

Life happens in seasons too, and as we walk in relationship with Jesus, the scriptures remind us that there is a time for every activity under heaven.

As Ecclesiastes 3 states;

A Time for Everything

For everything there is a season,     

a time for every activity under heaven.

2 A time to be born and a time to die.     

A time to plant and a time to harvest.

3 A time to kill and a time to heal.     

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.     

A time to grieve and a time to dance.

5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.     

A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

6 A time to search and a time to quit searching.     

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

7 A time to tear and a time to mend.     

A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

8 A time to love and a time to hate.     

A time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. 12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labour, for these are gifts from God.

14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. 15 What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.

This week, we have rejoiced with Catherine and Matthew Fernihough as a new season of parenting commenced for them, welcoming Lily Grace into their hearts and home on Tuesday.

Seasons are part of the DCC story too. Over the past few weeks, we have spent time celebrating our Year 12 students who have come to the end of a season in life. There have been assemblies, dinners, celebrations, guard of honours, dress up parades, fun times and carnivals as part of their final days – honouring them, their commitment and the incredible milestone that they have reached as they have arrived at the end of their 13 yearlong season. Each of them has impacted our community in different ways, and they have played a significant role in the building and shaping of our student community throughout their time as students.

And now they are in the process of preparing for a new season – each one different to the next as they step out and use their God-given gifts, talents and experiences to bless others and glorify the Father.

In the same breath, a new season is about to begin for our 2025 Prep Students and their families, as we prepare to welcome these precious little children into our school community. And whilst their 13 yearlong season of learning is yet to begin, like the outgoing Year 12s, they will undoubtedly make their impact in the DCC narrative, making their little personalities and presence known as we build relationship with them and encourage them to be all that God has created them to be.

Throughout their 13 yearlong season, it is our deep hope that the seeds of eternity will be sown into their little hearts as they step out into the purposes and plans that God has for them now and in 2037 (yes, that’s right!). The season between now and then may feel long, but there is much that we can do as a community to nurture, care for, encourage and equip these young people to be all that God has made them to be, glorifying the Father in all that they do.

Join with me in giving thanks for the seasons – life's seasons and the DCC seasons – past, present and the season that is yet to come.

Principally Thinking

'Act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly with God'

Issue 13 · 01 Nov 2024

In this issue