In my twenty-three years of serving as the principal of St. Matthew, I believe that the week of September 29, 2019, was one of the most powerful weeks in St. Matthew history as we watched our school community come together in love, concern, and prayer for 5th grader Braedon Breeding.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
One of the most fascinating aspects regarding working with children is watching God grow and cultivate their individual gifts, talents, and personality traits throughout their lives. Often, teachers will notice certain qualities and wonder how God is going to develop and use that characteristic in the future. For example, we've watched students fascinated with science and space grow up, attend MIT, and work for NASA. We've watched children who were fabulous at fixing broken items around the school grow up and become engineers or accomplished mechanics. We've had students, who were wonderful tutors, attend the Concordia colleges and now are high school math teachers. We've had kids that were fascinated with dissection become surgeons; while one student who was famous for doodling is now employed as an animator for Sony and Play Station...
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6
Each fall, I can always tell when the second graders are concluding their "Persuasive Writing Unit", as different letters for various appeals start to appear on my desk. In the past, arguments have been made for a swimming pool, football team, later start time for the school day, etc. However, this year, a young author really showed a bright future in a Marketing/Sales Career! Listed below is the letter that I found waiting for me last week:
Dear Mrs. Palka,...
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." John 15:12
It was approximately sixteen years ago when my husband was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Although he has been very blessed with a slow progression form of MS, the doctor gave two immediate pieces of advice at his initial diagnosis. The first suggestion was to take up swimming, as swimming utilizes the most muscles during one workout. In addition, due to his unpredictable instability, the second piece of advice the doctor shared was "stay off tall ladders". Two jobs that Ken quickly became ineligible to accomplish were painting the outside of our house and hanging Christmas lights.
Having two brothers that are professional painters helped to resolve the first problem...
Last week, after all of the news and prayers regarding Braedon had begun, our school received a very sweet compliment from a mom who is new to St. Matthew this year. She said to me, "What a special community this is, Mrs. Palka!"
And indeed, her perception is correct! When Jesus is in the center of relationships... powerful things happen! During this past week, it's like we have been watching a modern day version of the Book of Acts unfold, as a community of believers gathered together to love, support, and earnestly pray for Braedon.
I can't even begin to tell you how endearing it is being frequently asked by students and parents, "How is Braedon doing?"
Listed below is the Facebook update that Braedon's mom posted and has given me permission to share:...
"Whatever you do for the least of these, you do unto Me." Matthew 25:40
Funniest comment from last week in the lunchroom... "Mrs. Palka, Guess what? I'm coming to the "Aggressive Dinner!"
The good news is that the only aggressiveness that will be present during this Friday night's Progressive Dinner is our passion to help children in need of clean water!
Listed below are a few details that will assist with the enjoyment of the evening:...
"For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
After the cliffhanger of last week's newsletter "Waiting For Baby"... it is now time for "the rest of the story!" I am thrilled to announce the arrival of Maxwell Joshua Palka, born on 9-19-19!
However, a few complications during his delivery caused his entrance into the world to be a little traumatic, and, as a result, he spent his first three days in the Neonatal ICU unit at Mott Children's Hospital.
During the thirty years that I have been a parent, I've noticed that my mother's heart breaks every time my children go through difficulties...
"But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." Romans 8:25
Have you ever had to patiently wait for something? Perhaps it's a child getting ready for school in the morning, or a furniture delivery that was scheduled between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Sometimes, it may be waiting to hear about a job, or trying to call your Internet provider and being placed on hold. For many of us living in the Walled Lake area, it could be waiting for construction to end and the intersection of Novi Road and Twelve Mile finally opening!
For the past nine months, the Palka's have been patiently waiting for the arrival of our new grandson, otherwise known as "Baby Brother" by his two-year-old big sister.
This time, my role has changed from the anxious cheerleader in the hospital waiting room to now taking care of Emilia while mommy and daddy go to the hospital to get this baby brother everyone keeps talking about...
'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me.' Matthew 25:40
Are you a walker or a runner? Ever since I purchased my first Fitbit, I have found that I really enjoy going for walks. Even more... I like seeing how many steps I can obtain during each journey. So last fall, when our travel agent was providing us with a list of potential excursions for our June 2019 trip to Alaska, I was very excited to see "hiking" listed as an option...
Have you ever been so tired that you missed a few very important details? A few weeks ago, after "Meet The Teacher", I had to stay at school until 8:30 p.m. Realizing that it would take at least another 45 minutes for the raw chicken in our refrigerator to miraculously turn into dinner, I decided to wave the white flag and let Lu Lu's Carry Out make dinner that night.
As I pulled into the parking lot, I was a little surprised at how busy they were despite how late it was. Delighted that our order was already waiting for me, I exchanged pleasantries with the owner while paying for our meals and then headed out the door on my way home.
When I got back inside the car, I immediately saw the car's spare key fob sitting inside the drink holder, which is evidence of a very bad habit my husband continues to have when he moves or drives my car...