Two days into my start at ACS these words entered my mind:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat am I doing here?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I mean why would anyone who made it out of high school want to go back to high school? Don\u2019t get me wrong, I had a pretty good high school experience. Not academically mind you, but certainly socially. When I shared that reflection at our first staff meeting several experienced teachers gave me that friendly smile and nod that conveyed, \u201cI know exactly what kind of student you were, and we are glad God works miracles.<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u201d\u00a0With our adult social culture often revealing distrust and social disconnect between adults and teenagers, it does sometimes seem strange to walk into a high school as an adult.<\/p>\n I have a confession to make. I\u2019m a baby kisser.<\/p>\n It\u2019s true. There, I said it.<\/p>\n Anytime I see a little baby I just want to hold it and smother it with kisses. Yes, even if the baby is not mine. I know\u2014weird, eh? I\u2019m at my weakest when I\u2019m baptising little ones at church. I just want to grab them out of the parents’ hands and plant a kiss on their sweet little baby head. <\/strong><\/span>I\u2019m really not sure why. It\u2019s not like my kisses are like a kiss of the Holy Pope, so why? Obviously, the little ones are so cute, they smell so good, and they are so small, so\u2026so\u2026I digress.<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s because babies are so vulnerable and they need constant attachment reminders that they belong and are loved. Attachment reminders not just from parents (which is of primary importance), but also reminders from the community that surrounds them. They don\u2019t just need kisses and cuddles, but daily acts of service that build into their understanding a confidence that they are cared for and loved; they are surrounded (not alone) and capable of thriving in this sometimes difficult world.<\/p>\n Attachment.<\/p>\n I carry a lot of official and unofficial titles, labels and expectations at ACS like: faith formation director, chaplain, youth worker, and culture changer. But really, I\u2019m here because I love teenagers. I\u2019m fascinated by them. They\u2019re no longer \u201cbaby cute\u201d (except Tianna and Yelissa),<\/strong> <\/span>they no longer smell good (Axe body spray honestly, does not help) and they are not small anymore.<\/p>\n Yet, they still need those constant attachment reminders.<\/p>\n As I walk the halls, plan chapels, meet with students, roll out GIS (Global Intercultural Studies) and teach Bible modules I want to speak, show, and share those important attachment reminders with our students; that they are cared for, they belong, they are loved (no conditions), and they are prepared for and capable of thriving in this sometimes difficult world.<\/p>\n Christian schools don\u2019t have sacraments like baptism where pastors and congregations remind children and families of God\u2019s covenant promises. But they do have administrators, teachers, and support staff who are able to speak, show, and share God\u2019s attachment faithfulness in classrooms, hallways, and gymnasiums.<\/p>\n That is what WE are doing here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BY: KOENRAAD BEUGELINK, FAITH FORMATION DIRECTOR Two days into my start at ACS these words entered my mind: \u201cWhat am I doing here?\u201d I mean why would anyone who made it out of high school want to go back to high school? Don\u2019t get me wrong, I had a pretty good high school experience. Not […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":3898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,35],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-3894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-relationships","category-secondary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3894"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=3894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}So what am I doing here?<\/span><\/h2>\n
That\u2019s why I\u2019m here<\/span><\/h2>\n