Editorial
I’m sure that many of us have watched a few more hours of television than we normally would over these past two weeks; glued to the racing, swimming, cycling, water sports and the list goes on. The Olympics are a time of celebration every four years, where the world comes together, attempting to put aside politics, to send our very best athletes to compete.
There is music and dance, lights and feats of engineering as the opening ceremony invites us to explore the host country and begin the competition.
And then the athletes step up. We see the epitome of athleticism and it is easy to forget the countless hours of training and sacrifice that it has taken just to reach the Olympics competition. Whether they win or lose, they have already achieved greatness, just by getting there.
And then some of them win. What a joy it was to see Julien Alfred win the very first Olympic medal for her country of St Lucia. Not just any medal – a gold!
I wonder if we can relate to any of the athletes as we go about our everyday lives. I wonder if we ever think of the race we are running. Are we training? Are we consuming the right “foods”? Are we being coached by the right people?
In the Bible, we read in the book of Hebrews, a call to step up and run the race.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
At Plenty Valley Christian College, we seek to partner with parents to encourage, guide and coach, our students as they learn to run the race of life. Our prayer is that they will consume that which is noble, pure and good and this will fortify them to grow and become stronger each day. We know that there are plenty of consumables in our world that distract and weaken our faith. Social media, gaming and chat facilities can be helpful and build us up, but more often than not, they tear us down, cause guilt and cast shame.
As we partner together in coaching your children, our students, let us teach them what is good for them, what will help them grow and what will build them into strong, capable and faithful people who can transform their communities, local and global.
Lily McDonald
Deputy Principal
