Rockbridge Academy Blog
Posts Tagged "trust"
Learning Our Lines
January 15, 2026
On a recent trip to my local bookshop, I noticed James Clear’s hugely popular, Atomic Habits, on a table near the front of the store. The 2018 bestseller now has a companion workbook. I was tempted to buy both. I am sure many others did. Because, one thing most of us know intuitively, is that small choices repeated over time—habits—lead to what becomes the way we live our lives, and reflects, ultimately, what we value.
This got me to thinking about walking in lines. More specifically, it got me thinking about why we spend so much time and effort here at Rockbridge teaching grammar students to walk in lines. Without a good understanding of why this one simple habit has value, one could begin to think it is a bit restrictive, a little too military-like, even harsh. I mean, what is the big deal if the line is a little wiggly, ziggy-zaggy, and jumpy as long as everyone makes it safely back to class and in good time?
I am glad you asked, because recently I had a group of students with just such a line. Initially, I was tempted to chalk it up to too much sugar and Christmas excitement. It wasn’t until another teacher called out my students as she walked by, that I caught up with the class and addressed their behavior. In that moment, I felt the Holy Spirit reminding me, why this one, simple activity is so important. I will share with you what I shared with the class.
While lines may be restrictive and military-like, they are an especially wonderful opportunity for spiritual formation. Our infinitely wise God has allowed our sanctification to be gradual. While our justification and salvation are complete already, sanctification takes time. Walking in line is a means of sanctification that develops obedience and humility, trust, and love for others. Let me explain.
As the student, I line up first because my teacher tells me to. There are many things God tells me to do, too. And though I want to be the line leader (always), accepting my spot in line helps me learn to be second, or third, or fifteenth, and thus helps me to consider others better than myself. This surely takes practice.
Lining up also teaches me how to trust others. Instead of tilting my head sideways to look ahead, I keep my eyes on the classmate in front of me, accepting that he is doing the same, as is every other classmate right up to the line leader. In my life as a Christian, I need to trust fellow believers, to rely on them, and they on me. I am even called to it.
Lastly, walking in line helps me learn how to love. When I remain in line, I learn to respect others space, to make room for them. I learn, too, that part of God’s love for me is in providing order and limits. I imitate God’s order by keeping an orderly line. In this, I am reflecting, and respecting, His character.
So the next time you are walking the halls here at school and you see grammar students walking in line, take encouragement that while they may not be practicing atomic habits, they are learning eternal ones.
Photo Credit: John Daly
Melanie Kaiss has taught PE at Rockbridge Academy since 2004. She began teaching when her oldest child was in second grade. All four of her children have since graduated from Rockbridge (Classes of 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2024). Over the last 21 years, Melanie has taught PE at every grade level, been assistant to the Athletic Director, coached girls soccer and lacrosse, and run numerous Discovery Summer camps for five years running. Melanie’s husband, Stephen, joined the Rockbridge board shortly after she began teaching. He became a permanent board member and continues to serve today.
Posted in
Grammar
The Motto Amid Trial
September 17, 2020
“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
It is from these verses in the New Testament that our school motto comes: In captivitatem redigentes omnem intellectum in obsequium Christi. “Intellectum” is the Latin word translated in the ESV as “thought.” The Latin word also has the connotation of understanding, recognition, or sense. “Intellecti” are how we make sense of the world. We don’t always make sense of the world in well-fleshed out arguments and intellectual queries. Most often, our thoughts revolve around the happenings of our lives; our worries, excitements, milestones. The Rockbridge motto argues that these should be taken captive just as much as their well-formulated cousins.
The Paul of 2 Corinthians is no stranger to pervasive thoughts. I’m sure his worries often seemed all encompassing. Facing jail time and unfaithful churches, anxiety must have abounded. But these are the exact kind of thoughts that must be held captive, checked against the knowledge of God and shaped into obedience to Christ to find ultimate comfort and peace. God has promised faithfulness and love and such un-captivated thoughts deny those promises.
Starting a school year in the wake of the COVID pandemic ushers in a whole slate of new worries for many of us. Between distance learning and health concerns, we may be able to relate to Paul’s struggles and anxious thoughts better than we would’ve liked. However, even though we may continue to pick apart Plato, and see God’s fingerprints in calculus, if we do not redirect our worried and anxious thoughts to God’s truth and love, we will not wage spiritual warfare like Paul describes in the first verse. This process of taking our thoughts captive is a strategy on the spiritual battlefield. Doubts and fears can’t stand in our hearts when they are constantly compared to the standard of God.
This is often not as simple as merely recognizing worries and doubts for what they are. It requires us to consistently remind ourselves of the truth about God’s unfailing love and faithfulness. Meditating on God’s word must become a knee-jerk reaction to the trials we face. Belittling those trials is not a solution; the answer comes when we can recognize the true depth of our hardships and continue to remember that even the worst trials will never surpass God’s power and sovereignty. To deny suffering does not increase God’s glory. But He is glorified when we respond to our struggles by turning to His Word.
By taking captive our COVID-obsessed thoughts, we can compare them to the true Word. When they remind us to turn to the God who heals, we should root them fast in our hearts. When they wedge worry and doubt between ourselves and that healing God, we must learn to sacrifice them to our ultimate truth-giver.
Taking thoughts captive is a war-strategy the soldier Christian must learn to employ. The battlefield is their heart, and the prize is peace. As we shape our thoughts into obedience to Christ, we can strip our worries of their blinding control over us. If lofty opinions and strongholds don’t stand a chance, as Paul says, neither do our virus inspired thoughts.
This isn’t to deny the inherently worrying nature of the last six months. Trying to get a child’s education back on track after three months of impromptu homeschooling in the midst of a global pandemic is as good a reason as any to feel nervous. Not to mention the fears naturally built into a long-term state of emergency and the sickness and death surrounding us. But the Christian has the unique ability to persist against these kinds of thoughts during trial, because he can take them captive to a perfectly unchanging thing— the Word. As Christ is the Word incarnate, obedience to Him means accordance with the Word of God. That Word, that truth of God, doesn’t change no matter the number of new COVID cases or Paul’s prison sentence. If anything, the message of hope and faithfulness shines even more starkly against a dark and uncertain background. God asks us to bring our griefs, worries, and problems to Him, so He can solve them with His overflowing love and grace.
I think this is why 2 Corinthians 10:5 is the motto of Rockbridge Academy. The verse doesn’t only mean that the teachers and students pick apart academic conclusions from a Christian worldview, though that is critical. When crises mount against the community, peace will ultimately come when each of our most emotional and personal thoughts are also taken captive to the obedience of Christ. At root, this motto means that the administrators, teachers, staff, and students practice dedicating their worries, joys, fears, and opinions in submission to the unchanging truth of God’s Word, no matter the trial, even a pandemic.
Emily Marsh, '19, is excited to build the Rockbridge Blog to highlight the community that educated and guided her. She is now studying Economics at Hillsdale College, where she’s a captain of the sailing team and an editor of the Hillsdale Blog.
Posted in
School Culture
Great words, Emily! Thanks for your thoughtful exhortation.
You are all inspiring, my beautiful Granddaughter.