Living for Today

...and so soon summer vacation is over.  Lazy days are soon to be replaced with busy schedules full of early morning wake up calls, long days at school, after school snacks, football, and homework.

I'll be minus the homework, I hope, but it will be full of housework, I'm sure.  Working as an aide at a high school, I still feel like a student on the first day.  I carry my schedule with me as I go from class-to-class.  Sometimes I even have to ask where a classroom is.  There will be new teachers and old teachers in different rooms...

Always changes.  The seniors are gone only to be replaced with a whole new group, including my son, Nik.  It's hard to believe this is his last year.

A new round of freshman will fill the hallways tomorrow.  Some will try to hide their fears by surrounding themselves with their friends.  Others will try to hide tears of frustration.  I'm praying those are the kids that come into my path.  I enjoy handing out encouragement when needed and a smile.  Many times a listening ear is in order, too.

I love my job. I love being with the kids. But working is hard on me.  But I need to work.  We need the money, for one thing, plus I need to be with other people (especially teen kids, I guess.)  I need a routine.  My summer has been relatively storm-free.  I had a fantastic vacation with Mari in Washington and I had lazy days at home.  Now my body has to get back in gear.  I have to move forward, without fear of the future.  I've lived between the storms and I've lived during the storms and you know what?  I've made it through them all.  God is good.  He watches over me constantly.  He gives me a great support group that lifts me up in prayer.  He's given me a job that isn't too demanding.

I choose to forge ahead.  The voice whispering in my ear that I need to be afraid of the future isn't God.  I know that.  Tomorrow morning I will get up and be excited.  I'll change clothes until I figure out the perfect outfit (just like the teen girls.)  I'll get a piece of toast to eat on the way.  I can do this.  The future doesn't matter.  I can't change it.  I can't stop the tomorrows from coming.  All I can do is live for today.

Matthew 6:34 (The Message)  "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."