change of plans

Several months ago, I was burdened to start teaching the boys Bible verses. One of our recent verses was Proverbs 22:6- "Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not turn from it." The boys frequently recite this verse throughout the day, and lately, it's as if I hear Jesus speaking through their little voices.

In the last six months, my life has taken a dramatic turn. There are very few remaining characteristics of my previous life. And though I don't have to look far to be reminded of that, it seems most obvious as we roll in to August. For some people this month marks the start of football season, life threatening temperatures down south, or the finality of summer, but for me it means the start of school.

My "August" has always been predictable. I teach. I am 31 years old, and for the last 26 years, I have attended school EVERY year either as a student or a teacher. In the last eight years, August means I have my classroom meticulously organized and decorated, I've met the new "crop" for the year, and I have everything laid out for that precious FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. But this year, I've had a change of plans.

My new classroom looks more like a dining room table. My class has been significantly minimized to one student. That one student is the coolest second grader on earth, and our lessons are uniquely designed just for him!

This change will certainly require time and patience. It won't be easy, and I'll still miss those familiar August days when I had the opportunity to impact the first year of school for a group of Kindergartners. But on the days when I'm not sure I can do it or if I want to do it, it seems as though one of the boys can be heard saying, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not turn from it." And though I hear those words loud and clear, my heart hears the Lord saying this:

Sarah, I know you have plans for your life, but please remember I am the Ultimate Determiner of your path. Trust my plan. When you prayed for children, I already knew I'd entrust Jack and Max to you. And though you have spent much of your life using your talents and skills for the good of other children, today you will use them for your own! Train them. Teach them to read, subtract, explain photosynthesis, and recall historical facts. But teach them to love Me. Hide My Word in their hearts and teach them to meditate on those verses. And when they are grown and living independent lives, they will dwell on the days when they were younger. They will face struggles, but they will seek Me, because you invested in them. This change of plans is My perfect will for you. Trust me.

And those are the days when I take a deep breath, look at the boys, and saddle that horse once again! I am a teacher with the greatest students and the greatest responsibility. And I will trust God. I pray for great things in the coming year!