Principal's Ponderings

Choosing the Path Together

“Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” — Isaiah 43:18–19

Have you had that moment when you look down at the date, and realise it has huge significance? This past weekend, we realised the date and that it marked ten years since our family packed up our home in Victoria and relocated to Tasmania.

As I reflected on that milestone, I found myself thinking about the many pathways and different directions we all have before us. Life is full of them. Some are straight and predictable. Others are winding, uncertain, and require a step of faith before we can see where they lead. Looking back, moving to Tasmania was one of those moments. It was a fork in the road. A decision to leave what was familiar, secure and sure, and step into something God was calling us toward. New, uncertain, unknown and had deep faith.

At the time, we did not know exactly what the next ten years would hold. We did not know the friendships that would be formed, the opportunities that would arise, the challenges we would face, or the incredible blessings we would experience. What we did know was that Jesus was inviting us to trust Him and walk the path He had placed before us. And for the record, if we knew what we know now, we have said we would have moved 10 years earlier!

So often, following Jesus involves leaving something behind. Old habits. Old ways of thinking. Old fears. Old comforts. The Christian life is not simply about believing different things. It is about becoming different people as Christ transforms us. Realising we no longer live with a focus on self, but on bringing glory to His name and worshiping Him in the good and the bad. It is choosing, day after day, to step onto the path He has prepared for us rather than returning to roads that no longer lead where He is calling us. I witnessed just some of these testimonies of transformation on Sunday, with three of our current students and a past student of DCS, sharing their own testimony before being baptised, at a local church in Devonport. 

The wonderful truth is that God never intended us to walk our journey alone.

One of the greatest gifts our family has received over these ten years has been the community of faithful, caring and Christ-centred people around us, especially from those in the DCS community. We could not have walked this path without them.

There is an old illustration that was shared with me this weekend, a single coal removed from a fire quickly loses its warmth and eventually goes out. Yet when it remains among the other coals, the fire continues to burn brightly. The same is true for us. We were created for community and it is really important to be around people who are like-minded to keep us continually burning bright. 

Scripture reminds us: 

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” — Proverbs 27:17

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor… Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9–12

Following Jesus was never meant to be a solo journey. We need people who encourage us when we are weary, challenge us when we drift, celebrate with us in times of joy, and remind us of God’s faithfulness when the road becomes difficult.

Even more importantly, the people we have around us will help us step well, or let our foot slip. We teach our young people to be careful who they surround themselves with, but we also need to teach them to be strong in faith and truth, and lead their friends to make good calls and ‘step’ carefully toward the right things. This struggle of peer pressure is no different today to what it was when us adults were adolescents. Our prayer is that our children don’t let their ‘coal’ go cold, being near others who are not on fire for the right reasons. 

Author and pastor Eugene Peterson once wrote, “There can be no maturity in the spiritual life, no obedience in following Jesus, no wholeness in the Christian life apart from an immersion in, and embrace of, community.”

As we each stand at various forks in the road of life, may we choose the pathway Christ places before us. May we leave behind anything that hinders us from becoming who He is calling us to be. And may we walk that path together, strengthened by faith, encouraged by community, and anchored in the presence of Jesus.

After all, the journey was never meant to be travelled alone.

Jiloa,

Chad