It is the season of the new, yet no-so-new.
A new school year begins, surrounded by millions of school years that have come before and the millions that will come after.
New pencils and notebooks find new homes in desks previously occupied by other students, and someday occupied by other students.
The lockers frustrating this new class have seen those frustrated faces before, and not for the last time!
While a new school year may produce anxiety in kids, there are helpful reminders that what is new is also not-so-new. The new school year begins with the not-so-new presence of Christ. The new schedule unfolds with the not-so-new promise that Jesus hangs out in classrooms and hallways, on playgrounds and monkey bars, at lunch tables and lockers.
Jesus keeps us company with his not-so-new peace, not-so-new mercy, not-so-new tender love. With his not-so-newness, we begin a new school year, just as we did before, just as we will again. And we will see, not for the first or last time, that Jesus is already there.
Lisa Lewton 