Well, it's that time of year again, time to get the kiddos back off to school! And allthough I enjoy summer vaction and the relaxed schedule that comes along with it, I'm ready for them to go back. But every year as I am stocking up on school supplies, attending orientations, packing up back packs, etc., etc. I often get to worrying. Here we go again, another year I am sending my child off to some stranger, hoping they treat my child with the love and kindness they deserve. Hoping they will be able to adapt and pay attention to my child's learning style and needs. Hoping my child will enjoy this school year. Hoping the children will treat each other with respect... Did I cover this with prayer like I should have...Oh the list goes on and on...
Then this story comes to mind:
There was a teacher who taught 1st grade at an inner city school. She had many children in her class from broken homes. Homes that were abusive and poverty stricken. Before the school year started her husand and her spent many hours in dedicated prayer for the children that would fill her classroom that year. They actually went into the classroom and prayed over each desk, specifically asking that God would provide an angel to look over each child.
About a month or so into school the teacher had the children participate in activity titled "What I want to be When I Grow Up". There were many who wanted to be teachers, ballerina, doctors, ect.
One little boy, Matt we'll call him, raised his hand and said, "When I grow up I want to be a mighty man of God."
Another little boy, Joe, curiously asked "What does that mean?"
Matt answered, "It means I will put on the armor of God and strand strong in the love of God"
The teacher besides herself, turned back to her desk with tears welling up in her eyes.
Before she could make it back to her desk,however, Joe called her back to his desk and he asked her, "Do you believe in angels?"
And she answered, "Yes, I do"
The child then asked, "Do you think we can see angels?"
The teacher responded with " I think that God sometimes sends angels we can see."
"Well," the child said, " I can see angels and I see one standing behind each desk in this classroom!"
That story reminds me of two very important things! We need to put our worry aside and trust God! And we also need to pray without ceasing!!
I recently heard a pastor say in one of his sermons " Worry is wasted meditation". I love that line. As I was getting the kids ready for school this year how much time did I waste on worry? Time spent worrying that could have been spent in prayer?
Philippians 4:6, a familiar verse to me, says:
"Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you nedd, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
Why waste the worry? Commit this verse to memory, so the next time worry sinks in, you can immediately refocus your thoughts to this verse. Don't worry, God will take care of it, He always does!!
