1st Day of School

Wow...has it really been 5 that I've been out of school? Today started the 2010-2011 school year for the local students which means this will be 5 years for me. So much has changed in 5 years that it's ridiculous. It got me thinking though, just as every school year comes to a close and a new one starts, so do the seasons that we go through in life.

I've been reading a lot lately in Romans 5 about how a whole multitude of things come from our tribulations and each one is for the better. I know for me that is very true. Over the past 4 years (which were the first 4 years of me living on my own) I have experienced many, many trials and tribulations that have almost crippled me. I've always said that I don't know how people live without God guiding their lives, but these past years I have truly experienced the reality of that statement. The amazing thing though is that God has never failed me, forgotten me, or left me at all. Never, not once, has he turned His head from me and not known exactly what was going on in my life before it ever happened.

There's a lyric out of a Steven Curtis Chapman song that says this, "Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence as our prayers draw us near to the One who knows our needs before we even call His name." That is SO powerful to me! We serve a God who we can talk to, and before we ever open up our mouths to talk, He already knows what we're going to say, and He still wants to hear it!!!

I've also learned the extreme importance of starting off, and ending, your day with a quiet time where it's only you and God talking. I was thinking back to a pretty hectic situation in my life that happened a couple of months ago, and just to see what would happen, last night I opened up my daily devotional to that past morning's date. Wouldn't you know, that if I had only read that devotion that morning that the answer was RIGHT THERE!!!! The problem would not have happened because I would have known exactly what to do. That particular instance just proved and re-iterated the importance of talking to God EVERY day is!

Random Thought: God has so richly blessed me with such amazing friends and family that sometimes I feel unworthy.

All I can say is that if you've never trusted God with your life and allowed Him to take control....do it. The hardest part is taking the first step. I can promise you that after that you will have the most amazing best friend that is smarter than anyone on Earth and more powerful than you could ever dream to lead and guide you. It won't always be easy, but it will always be worth it.

In Him,
Stephen