Ryan and his morning para, Michelle, on the first day of school

Well someone out there has been praying, and we say THANK YOU!  The first two days of school have been wonderful which just brings me to tears.  I can’t begin to tell you what a blessing that is.  This momma’s heart is overflowing with gratefulness this morning.  And while I know there will be days coming when it’s not going to be smooth sailing, I’m going to take in the sunshine and the blessings of today.  Isn’t that true of all of us though?  Such a great reminder that there are many times in our lives when we worry, stress, fret, cry and become so anxious about how something is going to turn out.  And often times, things go much better than we anticipate.  It’s very easy to get pulled into the swirling emotions of doubt and negative thoughts.  God tells us in his word “Do not worry for tomorrow has enough worries of its own” for a reason, yet how often do we trust that the One who got us through every yesterday is the same loving Father who will also see us through the difficulties of today and every tomorrow that will come.  I know I fall into the worry trap; it’s easy to do.  Much easier than trusting in my faith sometimes.  When I look back at all the yesterdays we’ve experienced, especially in the past seven years, I’m reminded of how many unexpected blessings we were handed.  How many times we didn’t know how anything good could possibly come from the circumstances surrounding the day, but there was always good present in some form.  How we doubted God’s provision, yet we always had what we needed.  How even during the most devastating, crushing moments, there was always an unexplainable peace that somehow, we were going to get through this.  I love how The Message puts it in Matthew 6:24 ~

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.

Now how many of us don’t need to hear that today!  My job as a mom, a wife, a friend, daughter, sister, nurse…whatever role I am in…is to trust that God is doing a work far better than anything I could possibly understand or hope for.  So during those times when I worry over if my child is going to get through the day at school, or the myriad of other dilemmas that run through my head, I have to remember that it’s not about me or how hard I try to make things good and right and fair and fun and perfect.  It’s about believing, really understanding, that my life is more than what meets the eye.  It’s about helping others to see that God is good and His will is always best, trusting Him even when I really don’t get it or see the whole picture.  Cause sometimes the pieces of the puzzle don’t look so pretty but every once in a while I get to see a glimpse of beauty, of that big picture, when two or three pieces get to fit together.  Trust is a beautiful thing.

Trevor 5th, Sidney 6th & Brad 8th

 (not the best pic of Brad but they were goofing off)