All over the country, kids are getting ready to go back to school. In some parts of the country, school has already started.
It’s a time of anticipation, nerves, and, in many cases, negotiating a new school. This means seeing old friends, making new friends and facing new teachers.
I have covered every angle of back to school in my lifetime as a student, a parent, a grandparent, a paraprofessional, a bus driver and again as a student.
Each role has had its own challenges, and throughout my life, I’ve met them all with prayer. Often, others have prayed for me, beginning with my parents on my first day of school.
I remember when my daughter, Annie, started her first day of kindergarten. She was so “bright and shiny,” and excited to finally get on the big yellow bus that drove through our neighborhood each school day.
I, on the other hand, was terrified. My baby was going out into the “big, bad, world,” and I wouldn’t be there to protect her. She survived, and so did I. But I sure prayed hard that first day, especially when her return bus was an hour late.
Who in your life is going back to school this fall?
When you pray for them, remember to also pray for teachers, principals, lunch ladies, bus drivers and anyone else who will touch the students’ lives during the school year.
If you have any extra prayers, I could use a few, too. I soon will start one of the biggest back-to-school adventures of my life: working on my master of divinity degree at Luther Seminary.
It’s an exciting time as I move forward answering God’s call in my life.
Nancy Giddings serves on the churchwide executive board and lives in Blaine, Minn.
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