From the Chaplain

This morning I got up early to come to the Year Twelve Baudin breakfast with little Sam.  Whenever there have been House activities, I have always hung around with the Baudin students, like on the Year Eleven camp last year. Here I followed a kind bunch of Baudin students (Charis, Michael, Kelvin, Alex and friends) around the bushes geocaching and they kindly tried to include me as I was so unfit trying to keep up with them. I thought I would come and see them this morning as they have their last get-together in their Houses.   

There was some goodbye and thank you speeches which I tried to switch off for as I am not very good at goodbyes. I think it stems from my childhood. I was born in England and moved here when I was eight. I never wanted to come and leave my grandmother behind, who was my favourite person in the world. She would come and visit us from England and stay for the longest allowed time (six months) and then go back home to England. Going to the airport has awful memories for me as a child, screaming in the airport for my grandma not to go home and wondering if I would ever see her again. Whenever I am in an airport now, subconsciously I feel sad and feel like I am going to cry. If I see anyone hugging and saying goodbye then that is it, I am bawling. 

We all have things in our lives that can bring tears to our eyes; good or bad tears. God tells us in Ecclesiastes 3, that in life we all go through different seasons of sorrow, growth and happiness: 

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:  

a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 

a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. 

For the Year Twelve students, they are about to head into a new season of life. I pray that they will keep God close to their heart, remember what Jesus has done for them on the cross and know that no matter what happens in life, God is always with them and will always love them. 

Mrs Naomi Cooper | Chaplain