I love this time of year! 

As a teacher, I can tell you that I have spent most of my life starting new, starting fresh in August.  A new school year means new students, new plans, new bulletin boards, and new school supplies. Sometimes it means new rooms, new buildings, and new friends. Always new opportunities, new learning, and new challenges.

The excitement and anticipation on that first day is infectious.  Don’t believe me?  Just go to any school and stand in the foyer the morning of a first day. I love it!  The students want to know their teachers and what friends are in their classes.  The littles want to show off their new folders and lunch boxes.  The older ones want to casually locate the correct rooms and try locker combinations to prevent embarrassment later in the day.  They smile, they scream, they squeal, they chatter.  Believe me, the adrenaline is running high!  As John Travolta would say, “It’s electrifying!”

But for some, it’s a time of uncertainty, a time of anxiety and fear.  Some will try to put on a face of confidence, and go into the unknown terrified, looking for that bit of faith.  With a lack of any kind of security, structure, or safety, they will walk through the halls with daunting feelings of discouragement and defeat…for a lot of reasons, justified or not.  Hoping for the best, expecting the worst.

I wonder how many of us walk through the halls of life like that first day of school. 

New experiences, new chapters, life-changing events, tests and trials. Sometimes we ask for the change; we welcome the new.  Sometimes we don’t.  The curveballs that life throws at us take our breath away.  Not only do we not ask for the change, we resent the demands and find ourselves asking why.  Then, sometimes we actually ask for change, but we start questioning if it was really what we want.  The thought of adjusting to something different begins to cause worry and concern.

Have you been there? 

Learning a new job?

Finding yourself in a new relationship?

Getting little ones ready for kindergarten or sending older ones to college?

Adjusting to married life or life with children or both?

Learning to live without a loved one?

Moving to a new city?

Surviving or treating an illness?

Chances are you have been there.  You have experienced some kind of change, something new….because that’s life!  Things don’t just stay the same.  No matter how much we want them to or try to force them to remain unchanged.  It’s like the quote from Greek philosopher, Heraclitus:  “Change is the only constant in life.” 

Even if you invited or are embracing something new to your life, feelings of anxiety, of the unfamiliar, or failure can be overwhelming.  And, if you didn’t invite those life-altering moments, the what-ifs can be devastating. So, if you are finding yourself walking those new hallways of life, I hope that these three reminders can give you reassurance, hope, and affirmation, because this is what I cling to as I am living a new chapter of my life and encouraging dear friends who are dealing with change as well. 

1. Trust. These changes didn’t catch God off-guard.  He’s not in the business of mistakes, oversights, or fear.  Even though we live in a broken world, knowing and depending on the God of the universe can bring us peace and comfort.  However, that doesn’t mean our wants are His wants.  His bigger picture is perfect; we just get to know a piece of it.  He tells us to lean on him.  He knows what we don’t.  We need to trust to find comfort and peace that only He can give.

• Obey. Because He has all the pieces of the puzzle, He will lead us along the path of His will.  And, when He does, we need to be ready to say, “Yes, Lord!”   We are given choices, free will, and if we choose a path of lesser resistance, of comfortable contentment, of staying the same, we might find ourselves missing out on the blessings He’s ready to give us along the way.  When we live out His will for our life and are able to give Him glory, we will be able experience His mercy, His grace, and all His goodness. 

• Pray. In all things, good or bad, pray, pray, and pray some more!!  Pray for peace, in thanksgiving, and for direction. Ask for Jesus to walk along your path and hold your hand, no matter what you are living through, the pleasant parts as well as the difficult parts.  Ask for wisdom and discernment to make the decisions that need to be made to live out the purpose He has designed for your life.  Give thanks in whatever is happening because He is good and He is faithful. Always. He wants this relationship with you.  He delights in hearing these prayers.

So, as a new school year starts this week for many of us, I am hopeful that so many of you will have a fabulous year full of fun memories and exciting experiences!  Share them with me!!!

And, those of you living your own kind of new, not related to the school year, I’d love to know and encourage you as well!  Let me know where you see God guiding your path.

Need prayer during this time of change, time of something new?  Let me know and we can watch God do His thing together!!!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:6-7 (NIV)