Dear Parents,
In just a few days we will celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.
All around us we see the world encouraging us to take notice of what is lacking and our hardship rather than focus on the innumerable blessings that God has granted us.
It could be a particularly easy message to succumb to with the daily news heightening anxiety and the government restricting worship and family gatherings. I know personally, at our Thanksgiving dinner, our extended family will be unable to gather as we have in the past and the empty chairs will be a reminder of their absence.
But unlike the world, we know that all of life is grace and a gift! Throughout the Psalms we see the psalmists proclaiming their thanks to God in the midst of adversity, confident in his saving action. And, in the Acts of the Apostles we see Paul and Silas singing praises to God while imprisoned.
In Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians he exhorts us to "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." In fact in the letter of James he encourages his readers to face hardship with joy as it strengthens our perseverance in faith.
So, while my family may be apart this year, I have so much for which to be grateful.
Foremost among them is the privilege of serving alongside an incredible team at Eden, partnering with you as parents to help equip your children whom you have entrusted to our care. At Eden I get to see up-close God's redemptive work in the lives of our children, our families, and our staff. It is something that I am truly grateful for each and every day.
So this Thanksgiving, I thank God for you.
In Christ,
Mrs. MJ Botula
Interim Principal Berkeley Hills
