Origin of the Motto - "For the Children's Sake"

prairie wildflowers at Lakeside Labs

Another Living Education Retreat has come and gone...sort of.  This one was different for many reasons - different location (West Okoboji, Iowa), different attendees (at least 1/3 first-timers), different speakers (we try to mix things up), and a palpable spiritual movement - particularly with the men.  I spoke of the role of retreats in our lives at the Morning Meditation.  Here is an excerpt -

"But retreats also take us off that road, at least for a little while. So a retreat is holy, it is 'set apart,' sanctified. Sometimes it is set apart because we have work to do, a wrestle with the holy that we have long postponed.  Jacob, whose biblical story so often parallels our own, barrels through life, grasping for ever advantage and side-stepping God at every turn. Until  that night when, all alone and trapped into retreat at the River Jabbok, he wrestles with an angel until daybreak. Bless me, he says, and he is blessed, through the mark of that blessing is a scar, a limp. Jacob will return to his journey, but he will never walk the same again." - Gary Schmidt

Reading Beuchner at the Morning  Meditations under the oak canopy

During the opening Conversazione, I shared a wonderful document, Our Three-fold Cord, which I will post here later this week.  In it, I found the origin of the motto "For the Children's Sake"! At once, it is insignificant ("a chance phrase") and more significant than just about anything else.

Image used by permission from the Charlotte Mason Digital Collection, Redeemer University College, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

You can see the motto framing the badge.  There is more information about the other aspects of badge readily available and in Our Three-fold Cord.  But the source of the motto and why Mason chose it is as follows:

“We see, too, how well our motto – “For the children’s sake” – a chance phrase in a letter from our Lady Visitor – expresses the sentiment of our Badge. “For their sakes I sanctify Myself,” said our Master. John 17:19.  - Charlotte Mason, Our Three-fold Cord

Take a moment to think about that.  In keeping with the badge's theme of humility, we see Mason taking a lovely little phrase and tying the humility and sacrifice of Christ to our roles with his "lambs". Have you considered this?

I am thankful for all who helped, attended, and prayed for the retreat this year.  I hope we are all changed.

Warmly,

Nancy

*now the challenge to is find out who "our Lady Visitor" was!

some of the men at lunch