“There is meaning in every journey unknown to the traveller.”

The more time I spend in the ISCV community, the more these words of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer become a reality to me. I love being able to talk with students daily about life, faith, God, etc., and in doing so I am continually reminded of the fact that every single person I encounter is on a journey. We seek truth, chase after happiness, long for peace, and are eager for answers to many of life’s biggest questions. It doesn’t matter where we have come from or where we are going. The journey is the same for each of us. ICSV is proof of this – students and staff from over 65 nations, holding to different worldviews and belief systems, all longing for the same things. And for some reason, God has brought us all together in this place at this time on our journeys.

Our desire is to create a safe place for our students, your kids, to wrestle with the ultimate questions and move further along on their search for truth, peace, and happiness. We firmly believe that the answers we all long for are found in a relationship with God, and while we are clear about this with our students, we want to see them pursue truth and come to conclusions on their own. In order to do this, we offer students many opportunities to think, reflect, learn, and respond. One such opportunity is through Spiritual Emphasis Week. In secondary, these take place twice a year and are a way for students to be challenged to grow in their faith and to consider what God might be doing in their lives.

I believe that God is working in the lives of many of our students and staff members at ICSV, and last week’s SEW only served to confirm that. The team that came from Georgia spent most of their time in our daily chapel services sharing personal experiences of how God has worked in their lives. Thursday night we hosted a “Praise Night,” and were thrilled to see over 100 people come out. During our time together, students were given an opportunity to share about what God is doing in their lives. It’s really exciting to see the different ways that God is working in the hearts of teachers and students. It is my prayer that, as we move forward as a community, we would continue to see God draw our hearts toward Him, that we would find everything we are longing for in Him, and that He would bring us a peace and a hope that we’ve never quite experienced before.

Maybe you’re not sure about faith, God, Christianity, or whatever else. Perhaps you can’t figure out why things are going the way they are in your life. You might have more questions than answers, and that’s okay. Just remember, “There is meaning in every journey unknown to the traveller.”

Tim Totten, Spiritual Formation Coordinator