How can I begin to articulate the heart of LearnForward? A faith journey. My own faith journey.
If you’ve only known me for a year or two, it might be difficult to see the depth of my faith journey. I serve as the Chief Learning Officer at a lovely and progressive school: Willowstone Academy. I am married to The Builder, with three lovely children (two teens and a tot). We have a warm home with a supportive extended family, including two sets of wonderful grandparents for our children. I am founder of Niteo Africa, a Canadian charity dedicated to education and literacy projects in sub-Saharan Africa. My life doesn’t present as “needy.”
Beneath that bounty, there is need…spiritual need…
Bruised and broken, a lifetime of failures; noise and confusion, mixed with trauma and rebellion. If you saw the movie of my life, you definitely would see it. A montage of messiness. Personally, I don’t do anything without a good dose of fight.
But, faith is always there. Faith was knit into my life from childhood. It is an experience of…
Jesus’ arms of comfort. The Father’s whisper of invitation. A beckoning to be free to dance!
Waves of love crash over me and goodness overcomes my heart.
I am inspired to be better. To breathe. To dig deeper. To risk more. To trust that I am created for purpose.
I realize my breath today is given for a purpose. I take simple steps to walk into my purpose. My reason for being is greater than I am…
I am a changemaker. Changemakers are changed.
In my own journey of LearnForward, I experience the treasure, the treasure for my soul, a sense of worthiness. Forgiveness. Freedom.
I am dignified.
I am not dignified by my own actions, because it would be too exhausting to count in a tally- mark-chart in the sky. Trust me, I’ve tried. It is in Rumi’s field beyond right and wrong…
I am created…worthy…dignified…free!
At the heart centre of LearnForward is an authentic spiritual journey we call “faith.”
I can easily see it through my 2009 experiences in Uganda with Niteo Africa. The Builder had just entered our lives. Love was in the air…
I met Kate in an orphanage called “joy.”
Kate’s little life is a perfect picture. Vulnerable. Abandoned. Dying. Becomes…
Worthy. Lovely. Chosen.
When I met Kate, she was almost a year old and 11 lbs. She lay unresponsive in a crib in a bleak orphanage in sub-Saharan Africa. Her mother was unable to care for her.
The normal one year developmental milestones were only a dream for Kate. She wasn’t eating. She wasn’t crying. She was dehydrated. Her skin sagged dry and thin like rice paper. Our nurse looked at me, “It isn’t good.”
Our mothering instincts ran thick for Kate. We researched and consulted, but more than that we rocked and we fed. “Every child worthy” sang out in our hearts. “Every child…”
Over the weeks we visited, Kate transformed. She began to suckle. Her skin took some shape. She began to look around. Literally, she opened her eyes and followed us. She miraculously even lifted her head. She lifted her head! That simple gesture of growth became part of my heartsong.
Kate went on to regain strength and eventually was adopted into a loving family in Uganda. We know that we were a small part of her journey.
Worthy. Lovely. Chosen.
Transformed.
Our faith journey leads to a sense of “worthiness.”
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How does my journey and Kate’s journey inform LearnForward? How does faith transform our work with children in education in Canada? We are convinced that every child is worthy. We stand with children and their families in as many new, creative, and persevering ways as we can muster.
But, not only is every child worthy, we ourselves are worthy. We are all on a healing journey! We all have a unique and significant purpose. Our days are filled with learning to understand forgiveness, freedom, and our future.
It is a wholehearted faith journey best understood within the loving classrooms of our community.
The real story of our faith is that…
broken crayons still colour.
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This week how can you acknowledge your own worthiness, in rest, play, or purpose? If you weren’t afraid of failure, how would you risk this week? In your habits or practices are there any shifts you can make to honour and dignify a child more effectively?
We are all on a healing journey and our faith practice serves our learning and growth!
Thank you for being here!
For the sake of the children,
Karine
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