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What a strange feeling to drive past the high school and elementary school that all of our children attended and know that I no longer have any reason to ever pull into the parking lot and walk through the front door. For the past 22 years, I have been part of a partnership with these schools, holding up my end as well as I know how. Making sure that our kids had their three inner needs of security, significance, and strength met at home on a consistent basis. Using every opportunity I could to build the character traits of faith, integrity, poise, discipline, endurance, and courage into their fertile hearts. Resting their bodies as well as their minds and emotions. Nourishing their physical as well as their spiritual essence.

It was my job to send my child to school ready to learn and to contribute to their classroom, their fellow students, and to the school as a whole.

There was always room for improvement, but if their teachers’ feedback and their report cards were any indication, God blessed those efforts and I held up my end of the partnership.

The school did an amazing job as well. My children were provided dedicated teachers, excellent programs and resources, and a venue to take what they were taught at home and in the classroom and try it out in real life.

Now those years are over and I am out of the loop on a huge part of my former life. Over the years, it was my privilege to pray with a group of moms who felt, like I did, that God is very much present and accounted for in the public schools. As in all of life, He lives in the hearts of the teachers and administrators, the coaches and the choir directors, the counselors and the lunch workers. He is especially alive and well in the hearts of our children.

What a privilege to have a part in letting our light shine in the darkness. Because I pass these schools almost everyday, I will continue to give thanks and pray for them, but officially, I have passed the torch on to other faithful moms who love their kids, their schools, and who serve a mighty God who is at work in the hearts and halls of our public schools.

Darcy Kimmel has a heart for encouraging and equipping women to maximize their unique callings in life. Her greatest joys come from her own relationships. Darcy and her husband Tim have a passion for family and together founded Family Matters, a ministry dedicated to “equipping families for every age and stage of life”. Darcy speaks with Tim around the world regarding marriage and parenting issues and has co-authored several books and video studies with him on parenting, grandparenting and family relationships.