We all know the famous speech of Martin Luther King, Jnr on
August 28th, 1963. It was on this day that one man took a stand for
something that he believed in. He believed that although he was just one man,
he could make a change in the world. To quote this famous speech, “I say to you today, my friends, though,
even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a
dream.”
As I write today, I too have a dream. Although I may be the
only one with this dream, I know that this desire in my heart has been given to
me by God and God alone. Although some people may laugh at me for having what
they refer to as such a ridiculous,
far-fetched, pointless, stupid dream, I believe that it is possible. I
believe, that although I am just one imperfect person, that if I put my heart
into it, that my dream can become a reality. I am not going to keep this dream
as just that, a dream, any longer. I
am going to start working on making it happen. It is going to take a lot of
time, money, effort and support, but I know that God has given me this vision,
and I will not take it lightly.
Anyone who has spent time with me will know that I have a
passion for children’s ministry. On Sunday you can find me in the classroom
teaching salvation to God’s children. On weekdays you can find at university
learning about how to become the best possible teacher that I can be, and in
the little free time that I have, you can find me with my four younger sisters,
aged 2, 5, 8 and 10. These four girls are my pride and joy! Every single time
that I am with them, my heart just grows that little bit bigger. I love the way
that when I walk inside I am greeted by girls running with open arms. I love
the way they shriek my name when they see me “Broooooooke!” and I love what always follows my hug; “Brooke’s here! Brooke’s here!” These
four girls are my absolute world and
I don’t think I could live a single day without thinking about them!
Although these girls are all sisters, they are all so
uniquely different, and I love that there is always something new to show me. At
the door there is always a story for me to read about dogs, a movie for me to
watch about horses, or an encyclopaedia for me to discover new facts about
dolphins. A few steps into the family room and there are new shoes for me to
see, a new bag to show me, a race that has been won and new party invitations
for me to pick the colours for. At the bench in the kitchen there are new songs
for me to listen to, new stories from what happened in kindergarten, and new
drawings for me to see. On the other side of the room, as sure as day, there is
always a “Hi Gook!” with a precious
little wave. I wish, more than anything in this world, that I could protect
these girls every minute of the day for the rest of their lives, but
unfortunately, I know that is impossible. I know that there are going to be
times when I won’t be able to help them, and there are going to be times when I
won’t be there to give them hugs, to say a prayer, or to tell them that it will
all work out. I know that, as much as it breaks my heart to think about, there
will be a day when I won’t be their Sunday School teacher anymore, and I won’t
get to babysit them on the weekend. There will be a day when God calls me
somewhere else, and I have to leave my home town, say goodbye to my church
family, and leave my four precious girls in order to serve my King. But when
that day comes, I want to know that I have left something behind that will keep
them safe. A place where they will go every day, where they can be protected
from evil, where they can be around like minded people, and where they can be
blessed by God, and that place, is a school.
It is my dream for our church to have its own school where our children can
study without being bullied, a place where they can be educated in a safe
environment and not have to compromise their beliefs for fear of rejection. It
is my dream for my church to have its own school so that our precious children and
my four little girls can grow up and have Jesus as not only the centre of their
homes and church, but the centre of their education as well. A lot of people have
laughed at me for this, and told me that it is unrealistic and impossible, but
if there is one thing in this world that I am one hundred percent sure of, it
is the fact that nothing is
impossible for the Lord. Through Him, I can do anything! God has given me this dream, and I know that He will also
give me the opportunity to turn this burden into a reality, for the glory of
His name. So that is what I am setting my heart on from now on, for my God, and
for my girls!
Hi Brooke,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post- it's good to hear your thoughts. I've got two sisters who mean the world to me too, so I enjoyed reading about the relationship you have with your sisters.
There are a couple of questions that came to mind reading your post, and so I thought I'd quickly type them out. Firstly, there's already quite a number of Christian schools around, some that are dedicated to only accepting students from Christian families. Like you, their aim is to create a loving, supportive environment where children can grow up in the love and knowledge of our Saviour, Jesus. Would you be just as happy to see your girls going to one of these schools?
Also, I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you might balance an exclusively Christian school with the command to be salt and light in the community around us. I think that children, just like adults, are called to share the hope that they have in him with a community who desperately needs to hear that message.
Thanks again for your blog. I'd love to hear your response!
Rachel
Hi Rachel!
DeleteThank you for your comment on my blog, and thank you for reading it. I tried to post a reply, but my phone is being a bit silly so I will just respond on here, and then when I am on my computer I will respond on there publicly.
In response to your first question about Christian schools, I have had some experience with them. My two younger brothers both went to a Christian school in Canberra which had a very good reputation. The school itself was very wonderful and supportive, and the teachers were all very great. I fully support the school, and other Christian schools in the community and I pray that God blesses their work. The reason that I wouldn't want my sisters to go to that same school is because, firstly they are so expensive, and secondly, my brother expected all the students in his class to be Christian, so he was not as careful about choosing his circle of friends. Thinking that everyone was Christian, he got caught in the wrong crowd and ended up being strongly influenced by his peers to turn away from God. Of course I am not blaming these students for this, as he made his choices, but the fact is that he was in that environment when he was young. I also went to a Catholic school, and although the school itself and the teachers were wonderful, my peers always gave me an extremely hard time for my faith. College was extremely hard for me because I didn't grow up in church so I was only new to being a Christian, and everyone around me tried to pull me away from it. I would not want anything like that to happen to my sisters, and if they are able to go to a school where they do not have to feel scared or persecuted then I would much prefer that, at least while they are young. The Bible says to train up a child in the ways of The Lord, so that when they are older they will not depart from it. If they were able to be taught from this young age through school as well as church then I believe that it would help them when they are older.
My 10 year old sister struggle a lot at school being bullied by her peers. They make fun of her because she is a Christian, and they try to force her to compromise or break her beliefs/convictions just because they think it is funny. It truly breaks my heart every time I hear about it. Above all, I just want my sister to be saved, and to love Jesus, but if there is a possibility that she could turn away while she is at school, then I want to protect her from that.
I also agree that children play a big part in outreaching to our community, because they have that precious childlike faith. However, the Bible instructs us to be in the world, and not of the world. If my sisters cannot go to primary school without being influenced to sin, then how are they going to be in high school? Although they still need to be IN the world, if going to their current school causes them to be OF the world, then I want to protect then from that as well. I think the most important part of the school would be to equip the students with the knowledge they need to succeed in life in all areas, including standing strong on what they believe.
I hope this makes sense!
Brooke (:
I know someone else who was given the same dream.....
ReplyDelete