Back to School 
Pause
A new school year is usually packed with Back-to-Back activities. Remember:
“Just because much of the world has pressed play on socializing and going out again, doesn’t mean you have to keep saying yes. You owe nothing to the chaos of collective exhaustion.
Your boundaries are sacred. They don’t need a reason.
Inhale: In freedom, I say no.
Exhale: I don’t need a reason.”
@blackliturgies, 2021
Listen
I will bless the Lord who advises me; even at night I am instructed in the depths of my mind. I always put the Lord in front of me; I will not stumble because he is on my right side.
Psalm 16:7-8
Think
Did you know that humans can’t walk in a straight line? At least for long distances. A German researcher, Jan Souman, conducted many experiments where he blindfolded a person and had them walk straight for an hour. Not one of them could do it. The conclusion was that without a focal point or something to follow, humans slip into walking in circles.
I keep this in mind when I imagine the psalmist putting the Lord always in front. With God as the focal point, I will be less likely to lose my way. Don’t get me wrong. There are certainly many times I do lose my way, my motivation, and even myself. But how reassuring to know that I only have to refocus my gaze forward to reposition my direction whenever I stumble.
Rest assured that God has never left your side even at moments we look away or close our eyes.
Theresa Cho
Pray
God, guide me. Guide me when I wake up, in the in-between, and when I lie down to sleep. At times when I stumble, may I remember that you are always with me along the journey. Amen.
Go
Rest in the assurance that you are God’s own
Carry and share the load of others and let them carry yours
Look up and around you to where God is pointing
Celebrate that you are loved just as you are
