The First Day of My School Without Walls

Today is the first day of school.

The first buses are rolling, fresh pencils are lined up in desks, teachers are standing at their doors with big smiles, and students are finding their seats.

But for the first time since 2017...and really, since my very first classroom days in 2015...I’m not there.

The Dream Before the Day

Last night, I dreamt I was in a school. Not in a classroom, but in an office-like space on the main floor. I saw the principal. I saw movement, activity, life...but my role was different. I wasn’t teaching in the way I always had.

In the second part of the dream, I spoke to a woman about her ex-husband who had furnished her home. She was blessed, even after the relationship had ended, because what he had provided was still serving her life.

When I woke up, I saw my neighbor across the street...her life, in many ways, reflecting the woman in my dream. It all felt connected.

The Realization

Today isn’t the “first day” I thought I was losing.

It’s actually the first day of a different kind of school...a school without walls.

The office space in my dream? That’s me stepping into a broader role. My classroom is no longer bound by brick and mortar. My students may not all be children — they may be adults, readers, listeners, and seekers who I’ll reach through books, podcasts, coaching, and speaking.

The woman with the furnished house? That’s God reminding me that provision often comes from previous seasons, even after those chapters close. The blessings of my teaching years, the experiences, the lessons...all of them are furniture for the house I’m building now.

The Test

For years, the rhythm of my life has been tied to the school calendar. The first day of school was a sacred checkpoint. But this year, God’s checking my faith in a different way:

• Can I release the old assignment without clinging to it out of habit or fear?

• Can I embrace a new beginning that doesn’t look like the old one?

• Can I honor this first day, even if it happens outside the classroom?

The New Beginning

The Lord’s been telling me my writing is “past due.” I thought not being in a classroom meant I was missing something. But in reality, He’s simply enrolled me in a new course...and I’m the instructor.

This isn’t the first day I missed. It’s the first day I’m finally here for.

And I have a feeling… this school without walls might just have the biggest classroom yet.