At this time of year, children are getting ready for their first day - a new school year, perhaps even a new school. I remember those mornings, full of anticipation: the uniform, the new shoes, the bag packed and ready.
At this time of year, children are getting ready for their first day - a new school year, perhaps even a new school. I remember those mornings, full of anticipation: the uniform, the new shoes, the bag packed and ready.
But this year I’m thinking about two rather older people having a first day. My daughter and her husband are both starting new jobs. On exactly the same day.
It doesn't seem very long ago I was watching my daughter walk through the school gates for the first time. They may be rather better at hiding any nerves these days. And I don’t expect a photograph on the doorstep with an oversized school bag. But I wonder if some of the questions are much the same. Have I made the right decision? Will I be good at this? Will I fit in? Will I like the people? And where do I find the toilets?!
Starting somewhere new isn’t just about learning the job. I’ve noticed that every school, workplace and community has its own unwritten rules. What people laugh about. Who everyone listens to. Things everybody seems to know - except the new person. It can take a while to feel like you belong.
I’ve discovered there’s a word for moments like this: liminal. It means being on a threshold - having left one place, but not quite arrived in the next.
It makes me think about the limits of preparation.
God says in the Qur’an, the book Muslims turn to for guidance: ‘When you have made a decision, then put your trust in God.’ I love the order of that. I can think. I can seek advice. I can make my decision. Then I have to trust.
And I’m realising that trust matters when it’s someone I love crossing the threshold too. I can hope for them, encourage them, perhaps even help them prepare. But I can’t walk through the door for them.
So when my daughter and her husband head off for their first days, I’ll be cheering them on and hoping everything goes brilliantly.
And I'll be thinking of all those children who are crossing their own thresholds. Preparation gets them to the gates. Then comes the trust. They’ll walk into their classroom. Find their place. And hopefully their people. And soon feel like they belong.
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