We live in a world built for speed. Two-day shipping has given way to next-day overnight delivery between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 am. Sometimes technology provides the answer before we finish asking a good question. Not all of this is bad, but some tasks simply cannot be microwaved. They need the slow simmer of a crock-pot.
This year, Denver Christian celebrates its 110th birthday, but also a 100-year partnership with one of our accreditation agencies: Christian Schools International (CSI). This century represents a steady partnership in generational formation and Christian education. We are grateful for CSI. At Denver Christian, we are unapologetically playing the long game, working to form successful adults through our work today, and we are grateful we don’t play it alone. This milestone also invites us to reflect on the deeply rooted traditions that shape our school, our churches, and our families.
Quick growth and deep roots are not the same thing. Anyone who has planted a garden knows that lasting growth depends upon what happens beneath the surface. It is one reason I am so grateful for our 15-year path from Pre-K through 12th grade. It isn’t fifteen separate years stacked on top of each other; it’s one connected journey from learning to play alongside a friend to working together in the classroom and on the field, court, and stage. Along the way, shared experiences become traditions students look forward to and carry with them. But the deepest roots don’t grow at school alone. They grow where school and home tell the same story.
You are your child’s first and most important teachers, and the daily routines and traditions you establish at home are part of this powerful “rooted” work. They don’t need to be elaborate. Maybe it’s a weekly family dinner where everyone shares a moment they felt close to God. Maybe a kiss on the forehead as your children head out the door each morning. Maybe praying together with your children for family, friends, and teachers by name. Perhaps it is serving together once a season at your church or in the neighborhood. Or perhaps keeping a “faithfulness jar” where your family writes down answered prayers throughout the year and reads them together on New Year’s Eve. These small rhythms, repeated over years, become the nourished soil your children will grow in long after they graduate.
This month, I’d invite you to pick one tradition to start or renew at home, and then tell us about it. We’d love to celebrate what you’re building and learn from one another. For 110 years, Denver Christian families have planted steadily and faithfully, trusting God to bring growth in his time. Thank you for planting alongside us. I am so grateful to be on this faithful journey with you.
