Back to School with Purpose

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Lately I have been waking up sad, and I wasn't sure why until it hit me like a brick wall this morning.  I am not ready to send my "baby" off to Kindergarten.  School starts in 29 days- still a month away- and I am a mess.  I can't even walk through the school supply section of Target without having a mini-meltdown.  Since it is therapeutic for me to make lists, I thought I would make a list of the top 5 things I am worried about for him (in no particular order):

-Class size (30 seems way too much to handle for any kindergarten teacher)

-Who his teacher will be (Will she love him and care for him?  Will she watch out for him?  Will she protect him?)

-Who his friends will be (Will he find a best friend?  Will other kids make fun of him?  Will he find the good influences and stay away from the bad ones?)

-The schedule (Micah gets tired easily and still takes naps!  Will it be too much for him?  Will it be too academic and will he be exhausted?)

-Who will watch out for him?  (What if he needs help in the bathroom?  What if he falls down and gets hurt?  What if someone is picking on him?  What if he needs help opening his string cheese or his juice box?)

And oh, there are so many more worries I have for him.  Public school was not my first choice for him; in fact, it was my last choice.  Yet at the same time, I cannot escape the circumstances and feelings that he is supposed to be at this school, even though it is the hardest thing for me to come to terms with.

This morning I sat down with my Bible and felt led to this verse:
Matthew 6:26-27- "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"  Verse 34 - "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."

I know that Micah is God's child, and I need to trust his life into God's hands.  Do I trust God enough, even in this situation?  I am reminded that I should not worry about tomorrow (or 29 days from now), but just focus on the joys of today.

I read this post yesterday from Tsh at SimpleMom.net, who shared about going "back to school with purpose."  It is actually a topic that Dayspring is having multiple mom-bloggers write about.  As I read the articles and the comments, I was so encouraged.  I realized that despite this not being the option I had hoped for, God can still bring about a great purpose through it.  God can use my 5 year old son to show others the love of Jesus.  He can use us, as parents, to minister to the teachers and be a light in that school.   You can read about other mom's purposes here.  You can even purpose to adopt a classroom in your city and help raise funds for your child's teacher to receive much needed school supplies.

Tsh created a purpose statement for her family, and one for her child's school year.  I would like to do the same thing.  I will be thinking about it, but I know it will have something to do with building relationships with other people to show the love of Jesus to them.

In the next month, I will be praying daily for our boy - for God to prepare him, for protection, for wisdom, etc... And I appreciate your prayers, too, for Martin and I, that God would prepare our hearts and remember that He has called us to this school for a purpose.