School and Blessings

With the beginning of school I've heard the anxieties of our children.

They are real. They have taken up a bulk of their thinking the past couple of weeks.

Some of these anxieties are familiar anxieties I had at the beginning of the school year and some are different.

Here are just a few:

Am I going to do well in school?  What if I don't? What if I am behind?

Will I make any friends? What if no one wants to play with me?

What if my friends want me to choose wrong things? If I don't do what they want me to, they might not like me.

Are there bullies?

Is my teacher nice?  What if she's not?

As a family, we have been praying for several weeks that our children will feel the Lord's love for them. That they would have the courage to make good choices in school. That they would feel confident in their learning.

Knowing that the Lord is ALWAYS aware of us and will bless us IF WE ASK HIM, we have been asking and waiting.

Today, listening to their school experiences and watching them as they did homework, I saw and felt a reassurance of the Lord's love for them. I saw His hand in their lives.

One child came home overjoyed that she found a friend.

Another child was able to concentrate and FINISH her homework. Her focus and determination was AMAZING! By the end of the night, she was reassured that she can learn...VERY WELL! She could feel the happiness that comes from growing

Our other child felt confident in understanding her studies. I could hear her excitement for learning. This same child, after several years of feeling like she has been without true friends, has extended friendship to others. 

I see the Lord's hand in these small...yet big things today.

"In the STRENGTH of the LORD, we can do hard things!"