by Chris Steinmann
This morning I walked the dark hallways of an empty school. It has been that way for a month now, since we were mandated to close our schools by Governor’s order. Despite walking those dark hallways each day, I haven’t gotten used to it yet. It is disconcerting and depressing over and over again. Every single time I walk the barren schools of our Association, my heart cries out, “God, how long?”
I am not the only one crying out during this time. Parents flood our inboxes and phone lines with questions about Prom and Graduation. Families want to know when their kids will be allowed back in the building. Faculty want to know when they will see their students again. Athletes want to know when they can practice. Drama students want to know when the musical will be rescheduled. Over and over again each day, I’m asked “How long?”
I know that many of you reading this are probably in the exact same position that I am. While others are asking you for a timetable, you are asking God for one. It often feels like there are no answers, yet we are in a position where people expect us to have all of the answers.
Proverbs 16:32 says, “Patience is better than power, and controlling one’s emotions, than capturing a city.” There is so much going on in just this one verse. I’m sure it applies in many circumstances, but I keep going back to it in our current one. I want to capture the city! I want all of the answers and to execute the plan that will bring our schools and my loved ones out of this crisis. Yet capturing the city is not what God says is “better.”
Patience is better. Controlling our emotions is better. We may want the power, yet we all know how fleeting and fickle power can really be. We can never hold onto it. The reason we struggle with patience is because some part of us believes that our power is the solution instead of finding the solution in God’s power. His Kingdom and His purposes have flourished through situations much worse than the current Coronavirus. His grace and mercy have changed lives through natural disasters, pandemics, famines, and a myriad of other disasters over the last two millennia.
When we trust His power over our own, we can really exercise that patience. Many have said that it is dangerous to pray for patience, since God will give you a reason to exercise it. But my prayer through this pandemic is for patience. When we have that patience, it shows where our trust really is. Let us be the people who trust in Christ’s sufficiency, even during the toughest times! That will allow this fruit of the spirit to manifest itself in our lives and in the organizations we are blessed to lead.
Chris Steinmann
Superintendent & CEO
Cleveland Lutheran High School Association