New Beginnings

It has arrived.  September.  The long awaited.  Perhaps the dreaded.  It has arrived.  And somehow it feels a bit like January 1st.  It feels like the beginning of a new year.  And I guess in some respects it is.  Lots of new things to discover.  Changes to absorb.  New routines to get used to. A new school year to tackle.

So, yesterday, both my children went off to middle school.  Talk about some mixed up emotions.  for ME that is.  I know you parents out there have experienced it, but all I could think about was:  "How did this happen so quickly?"  It truly does feel like moments ago that I was folding the tiniest little socks in anticipation of adopting our daughter.  Fleeting moments ago, I was staring at this beautiful baby boy that I had just birthed.  How did they grow up so fast?  How did they become such amazing young people in such a short time?

So with both my babies at middle school, it does sort of feel like a new beginning.  And this year, I have been blessed with 34 piano students.  Talk about doing something new!  Not sure I'm quite prepared for it, but God has given me these 34 gifts and I can't wait to teach them!

So our new beginnings start out with mixed emotions.  Excitement. Anxiety.  Anticipation.  Joy.  Dread.  Fear.  So many mixed emotions, and so many of them bombarding us all at the same time.  My daughter was incredibly nervous yesterday as she started her final year in middle school.  The fears and pressures of fitting in.  The anxieties of not having close friends in her class.  The pressure to conform, but desiring to stay true to God's ways.  And my son?  Well, he was just plain excited.  Thrilled that he gets to walk to his new school with his sister. (Now his sister - well, she's not to sure about that! LOL) Excited that he gets to see friends again.  So happy to have a great male teacher - his first time.  And for this momma. . . a little sadness to see them go.  I SO enjoyed my summer together with them.  A little nostalgia thinking about those first steps years ago into the preschool at age 3.  And a lot of pride today watching them meander down the sidewalk.  Proud of the kids they have become.  Proud of their strong desires to learn.  Proud of their desires to serve God.  So many emotions.

And as I spent the day in the quietness of my home, it was with a peace that I knew God was in control.  I didn't know how their days would go, and I don't know how my first days of teaching will go, but I knew God was in it.

As I thought about the new beginnings each of us were going through, I thought about the beginning of all time.  Genesis 1:1 says it all.  In the beginning GOD. . . God has been there.  Since the very beginning.  Since the start of all mankind.  And He was there yesterday.  At all those beginnings.  Despite the fears.  Despite the anxiety.  Despite the sadness. . . God was there.  He IS there.  He is HERE!!!  Always.  And as we continue on through the next several weeks and encounter more beginnings, we can be assured that God is there.  Isn't that such an incredible comfort? 

I know that sometimes He feels far away, but He has promised us that He is there.  In the beginning.  In the middle and in the end. He is there.  God is.  What an incredible thought.  We don't have to do these beginnings on our own.

So be it a new school.  A new venture.  A new stage of life.  A new job.   Be assured that God is there.  At your new beginning.  He is there.  Walking with you.  Take His hand. . . and KNOW HE IS THERE!  At each new beginning.  At each phase of your life.  He is there!!!!

. . . and I'll try to remember that too!!!  :-)