Back to school 2015

As you leave for school. This year is a big year for your mama, too, as I send ALL of you off on the first day. God, be our anchor!

For twelve and a half years I have had a preschooler, at least one little buddy at home with me all day every day. A season ends today.  Let me take a quick snapshot of each of you, your joys and your worries, right at this minute.

Lorraine:  You are venturing into big kid territory.  This year, you are excited for volleyball, Holiday World, and the year-end class trip to Chicago.  You are becoming a lovely, witty young woman.

Aggie: Your biggest concern: Finding pants to match your new shirt, the one from Mary Anne that says “I’m a green girl!”  Also, naps.  You bounced out of bed early today, but you can tell already that your bounce will not last all week without a little more sleep!  

Seth: You were worried about which kind of desk you’d get. Would it be one that stays up by itself, or one that falls down unless you use a pencil to prop it open? “Mom, if I get the kind that falls, I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep!” Relief came- you got a sticky desk. Phew!  I hope everything else is in order for you in your fourth grade classroom!

Marcus:  You can’t wait for PE, “I hope it’s the very first thing we do!” You have Poison Ivy this week. I teased you, saying maybe the dots on your face would turn PURPLE and you’d look like a monster for the first day of school, and you replied, “Sweet! I hope they do, then I can scare the girls!” I’m curious to see how you respond to the second grade assignment of daily journaling. Will you get to write about dragons and soldiers?

Eldon:  You were so excited about your new dinosaur folder, and when you got to school, you found that Sam had a dinosaur notebook! How EXCITING!  You’re excited to see all your friends, and so happy Miss Schneider is your teacher.

Peter:  Your first worry was about kindergarten shots, which for some reason (brothers) you thought would be given to you by your teacher on the first day of school. Once I dispelled that fear, you had nothing but excitement for school.  You trotted off with your minion backpack without a glance back. You feel like such a big kid that you told me, “Mom, pretty soon I’m going to need tie shoes.” Goodbye, velcro, goodbye preschool days!

Father,

Take my children and all children into your loving hands as they begin a new school year.  Guard them from danger, bless them with good friends and kind teachers; grant them bodies full of health, and minds full of wonder and joy in learning.  As they outgrow their motherly seatbelts, grow them up in You, that your grace may be the air they breathe and the cool water in which they swim each day.  

Father, take this mother, and all mothers, into Your loving hands, too.  Grant us the grace to flex with the needs of our families, and the eyes to see your grace and blessings in each season of our lives.  Refresh us, Lord, and quench our thirst as we drink deeply from Your Word each day.  Be our anchor in the days of change, and fix our hearts where true joys are to be found: In Jesus, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.

This is the day the Lord has made! We will rejoice and be glad in it!