Last week Friday, the Iroquois campus worshipped and praised God during our first in-person chapel in over two years. We sang, we danced, and we spent time in God’s Word. Oh, what a great morning we had together! 

In my time as principal at the Iroquois campus, I’ve enjoyed more virtual chapels than in-person. The virtual chapels that have been arranged were fantastic, but there’s something about being with others, praising and worshipping God. 

Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying, “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” I think some seasons of life are thornbushes. The last two-plus years have been one incredibly thorny bush. Yet, roses have appeared. I think our chapel last Friday was a rose in a thorn bush. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” In our final month of school and as you navigate the thorns of life, whatever they may be, embrace those challenges as invitations to Christ’s power. Let him reveal the roses amidst the thorns. They are there, and more are coming. 

May you feel God’s power and peace as we finish out this school year. 

—John Barkel
Iroquois Campus Principal