Nicole’s e-Pistle

August 6, 2025

Greetings, Friends!

It’s official! The school year has begun for all students in Whitfield County and Dalton City Schools! (Can I get a collective… “Whew!”??) It has been quite the summer with many of you taking family vacations, international trips with friends and loved ones, and a break from some of our church programming. (Not to worry, all Sunday School classes and the Lunch Bunch will be back to normal scheduling after Labor Day.)

Summer can be a wonderful time to rest and enjoy fun activities that help us beat the heat. It can also, however, be disruptive for some people. There’s a break in our daily and weekly rhythms. For some families, providing three meals at home is more difficult when children can no longer depend on free breakfast and lunch at school during the week. For some children, it is harder to stay connected with friends when technology is not as readily available. I know there were times during my teaching career when there was a noticeable difference between kids of affluent families who looked forward to summer camps and vacations to far-off places vs. kids who knew the next two months were going to be hard.

Yesterday, I spent time writing a prayer to give at the Rotary Club Meeting. With all the excitement centered around the return to school, I could not help but imagine how this week looks to kids beyond the walls of my own home. I did not get to deliver my prayer, since the woman who arranges that had meant to have me pray next week, but I thought I would share it with you here. I do not intend it to depress you or even convict you in some way. However, it weighs heavily on my heart at times, and I am trying to navigate the juxtaposition of providing for my own children the best way I know how, while also mourning for children around the world whose parents would give their lives to have what we have here (and many of them have).

Whether you have young children or grandchildren, or whether you love children in general, let us pray…

Father God, as we embark on this new school year, we thank you for our children. Our hearts swell with hope as we look forward to all that this year may hold for them. Yet, as we pray in gratitude, challenge our hearts to see what you see in our local counties of Northwest Georgia, within the borders of our nation, and beyond our borders throughout the whole earth…

  • As we help our children put on their new school outfits, remind us that some parents struggle to clothe their children.
  • As we fix a special breakfast for our children on the first day of school, remind us that some parents cannot access healthy food for their children.
  • As we drop our children off, trusting that they will be safe and well-cared for, remind us that for other parents, schools are subjected to bombings from enemy governments or raids by domestic forces.
  • As we dream of what our children might accomplish this school year and beyond, remind us that some parents have little hope that their children will have a future at all.

God, you are a perfect parent, and your steadfast love outlasts all that we do and fail to do to bring your kingdom of love and justice to fruition. Bless us today that we may be better grownups for all children tomorrow. We pray these things in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, who bids us let the little children come unto him. Amen.

Blessings and Peace,