Behind The Scenes

It's Always Different

Sometimes I wonder what it looks like for God when He looks at people and the world. I think about people’s prayers, their conversations with God, the needs people have, and what these might look like from God’s perspective rather than my own. The reason I do this is because working behind the scenes is never the same as the scene that is presented.

In terms of a production or a movie, what is presented on the stage or the screen does not provide you with insight into the work behind the scenes. The hours of learning lines, the creation of props, directors, actors, special effects crews, sound crews, lighting teams, and the list goes on. Two hours of joyful entertainment with lots of work behind the scenes.

The same could be said for baking. Multiple ingredients, mixing, baking, decorating, hours of work creating the finished product only for it to be devoured within less than half an hour, or sometimes less than a minute.

Within each of these things, we know that not everything always goes to plan. When dealing with people, mistakes are sometimes made, despite the best of intentions. Sometimes those mistakes are glaringly obvious, while at other times we don’t see them. When we are on the outside looking in, often all we see is the scene that's been set, or the finished product. On occasion, we might find out something’s gone wrong because we eat a cake made with salt instead of sugar!

Behind the scenes of a school, it is much the same; lots of people with different roles doing lots of different things. In my time here, I have learnt that no day is ever the same. On more than one occasion, my day hasn’t quite panned out the way I wanted it to.

Day in and day out, I marvel at the dedication of a team of people whose desire is to give their best while serving this community. Teachers educating students, support staff facilitating learning, administration staff taking care of communications and many, many more. Too many to mention and to try would mean someone is overlooked. Behind the scenes, I’ve seen both laughter and tears. There has been joy at seeing success and absolute anguish as dire situations unfold. Yet without looking in, you would not necessarily know. The stage is set to ensure that our community is embraced, cared for, cared about and supported.

For me, I know that God wants us to live our lives and approach our roles with a genuine love for people, borne out of the love He has for us. It is a privilege to serve Him through serving such a vibrant community. Though complex at times, my prayer is that the scene we set is always one of love and concern for people in a way that glorifies the name of Jesus, and that despite any mistakes, you will see God’s heart resonate in who we are.