Has the Countdown Begun or is Time Running Out?

Several years ago, there was a commercial that showed the school bell ringing and all of the students running out the front door with smiles, and the teachers running out the back door with the same smiles. All of this is happening with the music Schools out for Summer playing over the images. The implication is obvious. The teachers are just as excited as the students when the last day of school ends, and summer vacation begins.

We have reached that time in the cycle of the school year when many teachers place a countdown to the last day on the board. The most common question I get these days from parents and teachers alike is, “how many days left in school?" I get it! We are tired and in need of a break. We are anxious to reconnect with our families, read a novel, sleep in, and relax on the beach, in the mountains, or at the pool.

The truth is I have no idea how many days are left. I don’t get into the countdown thing. Instead, I feel a sense of urgency that time is running out. I view the end of the school year with a sense of urgency because I am running out of time to share Truth with students. Some may return, but some will not. There is not much time left to plant the seeds of how to think biblically. Not much time to be the living curriculum. Not much time to integrate content with an eternal purpose. Not much time to disciple and influence.

We often tell our students to finish well and stay focused, but are we modeling this behavior? What is the cultural feel of your campus as you move through the business of finishing the school year? Is our staff more about getting to the end or taking full advantage of the time we have left? Our mission is not to number the days. It is to answer the call of Romans 12:11, “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, and serve the Lord.”