These last few weeks have seen a flurry of activity around the St. John’s campus with teachers returning, class lists revealed, classroom supplies delivered, maintenance completed and countless other little details attended to in preparation of welcoming students back. As I count down with eager anticipation for the energy and excitement students breathe into the campus, I also feel the pull on my heartstrings for the inevitably shell-shocked parents experiencing firsts - first day of preschool, kindergarten, middle school, first time on the other side of campus, first time changing for P.E., first day at a new school – the list goes on and on.

With prayerful contemplation I ask for opportunities for divine appointments to speak words of hope over those heavy hearts. You see, I’ve experienced my own fair share of firsts. I’ve only just wiped the tears from my eyes after digesting the reality of my last first when my baby started his senior year of high school last week. With an apologetic nod to all the seemingly crazy people who smiled wistfully at me back when I was chasing three little boys running in opposite directions and told me to savor the moment, I reflect that the mundane and exhausting chapters were in fact worth highlighting and bookmarking. The horrific reality of my first born starting all day kindergarten (all day!) left me longing for the first school break, eager to skip ahead in the story of his experience so we could return to normalcy. Little did I realize how I would adapt to a new normal. The tears I thought would never cease after leaving that same child in his college dorm room reappeared months later when we walked into a restaurant and I automatically asked for a table for four instead of five. The realization that I’d not only adapted but was thriving in the midst of my new normal stunned me.

Oh the clarity of hindsight! Each one of us can look back on difficult, traumatic or life-altering moments and see the golden thread of God’s grace woven throughout.

Oh the clarity of hindsight! Each one of us can look back on difficult, traumatic or life-altering moments and see the golden thread of God’s grace woven throughout. As exhilarating as that awe inspiring breathless wonder of realization is, there’s still more. You see, we are called as a body to love one another, to support one another, to offer hope and encouragement. Our stories are magnificent chapters written by a Divine Hand, masterfully illustrated as part of a bigger story. When our eyes become accustomed to focusing on God’s big story, our myopic vision clears enough to reveal the beauty amidst the struggle. I have suffered and mourned and celebrated and felt guilty about many firsts (and seconds and thirds) with my children countless times over the years. The gift of experience has helped train my eyes to seek out God’s hand in each circumstance. And now, when I see a trembling, tearful mommy of a new preschooler, I pray for the boldness to say, “take my hand, let me show you the golden threads I’ve discovered.” Because if my own hindsight clarity of painful experiences can offer hope, comfort, love and support to a suffering heart, the pain was worth it. I choose to see it as another golden thread God reveals as He whispers, “feed My sheep.”

“He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” ~1 Thessalonians 5:10-11

My hope for you today, next week, next month, is that you find the golden threads in your family’s story. I pray that the parents or grandparents or students who need God’s comfort receive it in abundance. And I pray that each of us with stories of surviving and thriving show up for the divine appointments God has for us, ready to encourage and build up our brothers and sisters in their present suffering.

~ Lara Kaufman 
Director of Family Ministries