SCHOOL, HEADLESS CHICKENS...and CAP ERASERS...

The first day of school…is such a wonderful day full of excitement and the start of a new season for parents and kids alike.  It is a challenging day for me.  I find myself setting an extra guard for my heart on all sides, so that I do not become too sad over the fact that my kids are not going to be right there all day long needing things that I can and can’t help them with.   Letting go, AGAIN, and remembering how precious their lives are and what a gift each day is... 

Praying for them as they enter into new classrooms with new faces, new authority figures over them…that their hearts would not be troubled, and that they would not be afraid of the opportunities for growth that will become present at every corner and in every area.  Also, making sure that with this open schedule, I do not run around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to fill the open space as I see fit, and making sure that I am dealing with my emotions as they surface. 

I look forward to this season like I did when I was a kid…then I was more excited about new tennis shoes and colorful cap erasers…but now I get giddy with excitement over the fact that I can spend MORE time alone with Him and His Word.  Digging deeper, into His word, and letting Him surface the things that need to go. It just seems to me that this season is more of a boot camp for me personally than the rest of the year. Sometimes, it is pretty heavy, but at the end of the day, it just doesn’t matter. Nothing compares to sitting at his feet. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  Every minute is significant.  There is nothing that we encounter that is a waste.  So important not just in a season, but always in every season to be diligent to not strive, but to be at that place of rest…all of the time …

I love the fact that He calls us to a place of rest, He has supplied us with it, and if we completely surrender, it is in our possession. He sets us up to succeed.  It’s when we turn aside and let our hearts be troubled that our stewardship of His peace falters.