Back to School 
Pause
For students, this season marks the end of summer and the beginning of a new year.
Every beginning has an ending. Time gets by so quickly that sometimes we can hardly keep up with the memories we are collecting along the way.
Endings sometimes come all too quickly. So there’s something to be said for taking every moment as something to be embraced and savored for as long as it lasts.
The God we serve, though, is not limited by time. The moments we spend in the presence of God, then, hold the possibility of timelessness.
Listen
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7
Think
It’s easy to be anxious, afraid, or even angry when so much is put to you during a school year. Almost everything’s a new challenge—always something to learn and develop and refine. It seems to be constant and is very demanding.
There’s a life lesson that I learned while in high school. My mother taught me this, and it’s never left me during my walk with God. She said that when I feel overwhelmed, or afraid, or just not knowing what to do, then I can pause and say to myself, “I can do this. I can do this well. I can do this now . . . with you, Christ.”
When I do this, I sometimes find myself reaching for Jesus’ hand to pull him shoulder-to-shoulder with me. And then I discover a very real inner peace. It’s a renewed spirit of power, love, and self-discipline.
Rich Clark
Pray
Come Holy Spirit and help me to remember that
“I can do this.
I can do this well.
I can do this now . . . with you, Christ.”
Amen.
Go
Go ahead and take that first step.
Is it risky? Of course.
That’s faith for you.
But remember,
Your faith is in God Almighty,
And God will not be moved.
You’re going to be just fine.
