This week I have been driving by the groups of kids that are waiting for the school bus. Even though I don’t have kids in the school system anymore, I feel the changing rhythm of the season. My brain still adjusts itself for the school year.
In the book of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 is a piece of beautiful poetry that is familiar to most of us. It goes like this, “There’s a season for everything and a time for every matter under the heavens: a time for giving birth and a time for dying, a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted.” It goes on for eight verses reminding us that life is never stagnate. It changes and we are called to change with it.
It is now a season to go back to school, for all the sports to start up, for all the traffic to increase. It is a season of learning, which is wonderful, but it is also a season of more stress. This is the time to go to God and ask for help.
Personally, I am struggling. My daughters are going in different directions. We raise them to become independent and leave the nest, but leaving is so painful. I have had a lot of days this week of simply asking God to lift my spirits and get me through my day. I have asked him to help me focus and not lose hope about the future. I have had days of pushing off worrying about money because that is not how we are called to live.
This is a time when I go to the 23rd Palms. I know lots of folks view that scripture as a comfort when someone dies. I tend to look at it differently. My favorite phrase from this passage is “He restores my soul.” (Psalms 23:3) The NIV translation reads “He refreshes my soul.” What that means to me is He cares about my emotions. He cares that I am down or discouraged. Most importantly, He will help me feel better. Not instantly, but as my day goes on, I feel lighter and more hopeful. That has been my continual prayer this week. God, please restore my soul. If you are feeling the weight of a new school year and all the changes it brings, I encourage you to try it.