It’s August yet again! That statement comes with a shred of disbelief. (It always does.) I am just sitting in the quiet of this long morning, thinking of the routine to come in a couple weeks which is accompanied by much organization, hustle & bustle to get everyone where they need to be.
My blog has fallen silent for a while. I was a busy mom this summer, and it left little time for pondering, let alone writing much down. But now, thoughts are turning to a new school year. For me, in my 19th year, I am starting a new venture in 4th grade. My kids will be in 6th and 2nd grades.
In education, we talk often about ‘best practices’…what works well, what keeps things moving smoothly along in the classroom. I would love to share one of my favorites that works right here at home, daily, before school begins.
The stretch of road you see above is our brief walk to the bus stop before my son, Colby, crosses the road and waves goodbye for a day of middle school. The steps to get there are few but very precious to me as a mama.
In all, it’s about a 60-second walk, but we make sure that for most of those 60 seconds, each morning, we invite our loving Lord to be a felt presence in Colby’s day. This short path has also heard prayers of healing, pleas for guidance, and the asking of blessing in the friendships that we keep.
It may not seem like much, but I know neither length nor simplicity of prayers diminish their impact. Give or take a few days, it’s 180 times a year that I can very intentionally cover my son in prayer for his day. It’s a best practice of a believer raising up a believer. Praying WITH him, and not just FOR him has been a very practical step to building up his faith foundation.
I love to imagine that it delights the heavenly realm each day as we start out from the driveway, faithfully calling on God…sometimes in warm, early autumn beams of sunlight and other times, rushing out into a dark, frigid & snowy daybreak. Just as my son is equipped with backpack, notebooks, and water bottle, I also like to think of our morning prayers as a last before-you-get-on-the-bus safeguard for the day ahead.
These middle school years are formative, uncharted, exciting, and a bit rough. But Philippians 4:6-7 instructs us, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”
These days will surely pass, and one day, some years down the road, Colby will drive himself to school. I also love to imagine that our sacred ‘best practice’ finds its way into those car rides… embedded into a faith that is all his own.
Our daughter, Hope, gets this prayer time, too, in the car ride to school. We get to share a bit more conversation in the morning, and then she is off to her classroom which is right within the building I also teach in. One day, though, this special stretch of road will be hers and mine as well. ❤️
Lord, thank you for walking with us at all times. Thank you for this stretch of road. I pray that faith is strengthened in our kids when we purposefully invite You into our day, every day. I ask that each parent who might read this, be encouraged to have prayer time with their own children on a regular basis. May You show us how “wonderful it is when Christ displaces worry at the center of our lives.” Amen!
