Dear Friends,
Do you want to be encouraged in the middle of February? Well, I do and have been this week by truly experiencing the following verse,
The whole body is built up in love as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4.16
The past few weeks I’ve been increasingly irritable, discouraged, and depressed. I’d been seeking God and begging for His perspective. I met with Pastor Tom and he asked what had changed in the past few week when I was fine.
Honestly, not much had changed and there was no big issue. I realized that I had been living in a perfect storm of
little frustrations, fears, and inertia.
Judy Bleau, a.k.a. the other half of my brain, had been almost completely absorbed in a complex change in our approach to book keeping and budget creation, (which will be great once the learning curve is complete and the budget is submitted). Our front office had been extremely busy with lots of sick kids and staff resulting in a continuous need for subs, thermometers, ice packs, copies and phone calls. Jenn Jonay had been trying to speak to someone at area churches for two weeks in order to arrange for HCA School Committee members to be there on a Sunday morning to hand out information about HCA, chat, and answer questions. Apparently, churches are now more like the rest of us and don’t pick up their phones or have time to answer messages. She was discouraged. I knew that this is the prime time for advertising HCA and getting out there. I was getting scared because everything just seemed so much more difficult this year.
I realized that
I felt alone with the big picture of running the school, which includes recruiting new students, writing grants, advertising, raising lots of money, running the program, and most importantly, being in the classrooms with the students and coaching the teachers. For me…
Alone leads to ...
... scared which leads to overwhelm ...
... which leads to cranky ...
... which leads to a spiral of negativity ...
... which leads to depression and a desire to run away and hide.
Fortunately, I am one little part of a huge body of Christ. All I had to do was
become more transparent, admit my spiraling emotions, and
ask for help. I asked for prayer and everyone responded. I met with the leadership of Holden Chapel and HCA and they heard me, understood and problem solved about how to delegate more effectively. I laid it all out at the School Committee on Monday night and
they responded with concern, support and a commitment to serve on sub-committees to get the work done.
Now, I am asking for your help as well.
- Please spread the word about HCA. Word of mouth is still the most effective way to find those God is calling to come here.
- Ask your pastor if HCA may come on a Sunday, set up a display and hand out materials. We also have a short promo video, speakers, and our adorable kids’ dance ministry if they want more!
- Sign up to visit churches with Jenn and/or the School Committee. Bring your student and wear HCA logo items as appropriate for church.
- Invite everyone to our Doggie Days Open House on March 7th. Robin Stewart has arranged for an amazing Therapy Dog demonstration as well as a Police K9 unit demonstration. There will be fun activities in the classrooms too! We have cute bookmarks to give out to your friends with all the information printed on them. We want to promote warm, fun associations with our name.
- Volunteer to help bake for the open house, or serve punch, or clean up.
- Put up an Open House Poster in your town, your church, your doctor or dentist’s office.
- Post/share events and happenings at HCA on Social Media.
- Most of all PRAY for your specific role here at HCA. Remember, the WHOLE body is built up in LOVE as each part does its work.
- Pray daily for HCA and ask God to bring in the students He is calling.
- Phone a friend if they seem sad or YOU need some TLC.
Happy Valentine’s Day
to you all and your precious families,
Susan Hayward, Principal
