Back to Something

I was welling up with emotion. It was way too cool. 11 women and 1 man sitting around tables at the entrance of the Braundera YMCA on a Friday morning. What were they doing? Back to School Prayers! We had a sign up for prayer at the Y and over 100 parents and kids wrote their name, school name and a specific prayer request. We prayed for a ton of things on Friday.... For safety in every school. For open hearts for learning. For teachable, humble hearts. That kids would be able to deal with the challenges and temptations that come their way. That our students would seek wisdom and understanding and fear the Lord. That they would cultivate strong integrity. For our students to practice forgiveness in their relationships. It was quite a morning!  When done, we felt like we had touched heaven on behalf of these precious kids in our community.

Today is Monday, the start of school here in San Antonio. It's a big day! Buses are everywhere. 20 mph signs are back to blinking. Police are out in full force. Heavier traffic. Impatient drivers. Longer commute. Kids to drop off and pick up. Schedules to keep. Back to school day brings an added stress to life, even if you don't have kids!

Well, how about letting "Back to School" day change you in a positive way? When you see a big yellow bus, don't get irritated under your breath, but pray for the bus driver and kids. When you get caught in the 20 mph school zone, consider praying for the school's safety or for you to grow in patience. When you get a ticket in the 20 mph school zone, thank the policeman, instead of grumbling. Yes, for real. When you see a friend that's a teacher, ask them how they're doing and how can you pray for them.  See "Back to School" time as an opportunity to support our kids, teachers and parents.

Secondly, all of us are going "Back to Something" today. You may have been out of school for a lot longer than you'd care to admit. But, today, you're going back to something. Back to work. Back to kids being gone. Back to something undone. Back to way too much to do! How you handle this day matters. It occurred to me last Friday while I was praying, that we adults need these same prayers! That WE would be open to learning. That WE would have humble, teachable hearts. That WE would be able to deal with the challenges and temptations that come our way. That WE would seek the wisdom and understand that comes from God. That WE would cultivate strong integrity. That WE would practice forgiveness. Some things never change. We all need prayer, right?

Make this the BEST "Back to School" day ever!

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.