The Frest Start of a New School Year Brings This Fabulous Mom Thought

(Inside: The fresh start of a new school year brings this awesome thought. 1st day of school wishes from a mom who’s either full of hope or in denial. You decide.)

I love the start of a new school year. 

The 1st day of school holds so much promise.  Like none of last year’s challenges will arise. 

My now 3rd-grade son will love to work on his math facts.  When I ask him what 5 x 3 is, he wouldn’t say things like, “I have practiced that before, so I don’t need to again.” Or make silly comments like, “weird + weird = weird, weird.  Get it, mom?”  Yes, but I don’t want to. Instead, he would just spit out the answer without hemming and hawing about why he needs to know how to multiply.  Or add. Or subtract.

My now 2nd-grade son will take the time to write neatly like he does when he practices at home. His teacher will not write on every single assignment to work on neatness.

At school, my older boys will consistently eat their carrots I pack them in their lunches. 

Spelling tests will be a breeze; we won’t have to study almost every day for them.

My sons will always be calm and productive in the classroom. 

My four-year-old will not need everything he eats dipped in ranch. 

Meat, vegetables, fruit, bread…it all is covered in ranch before being placed in his mouth.  Instead, he would enjoy the meals we cook him as is and politely thank us when he is done. 

He also won’t follow his older brothers around and demand their toy, or pencil, or book, or whatever they touch that magically makes him want the same thing.

As a family, we can get through the store without the boys getting bored and wrestling each other to the ground. Or my youngest running as fast as he can with the kid cart until it falls over, then screaming at the top of his lungs across the store that he needs us to help him pick it up.

We will always get places on time, dressed appropriately. 

A new school year holds so much promise and hope. 

I love the clean slate feeling when we vow, as a family, to learn from last year’s experiences and try to do things a little better.

It feels like a New Year’s resolution.   

It feels like God’s grace.   

That grace I feel every morning when I wake up to a fresh start. 

A chance to reflect on what works and what I need to try differently. Of course, life won’t go perfectly; I don’t think it is supposed to. Failure is an essential part of growth and even success. And God loves us no matter what. 

But it always feels good to stand at the edge of a fresh start blanked with grace. 

Happy 1st day of school. 

Do you want to read more about seeing God in motherhood? Check out the whole series below.

Elijah’s my favorite. Elijah’s the Old Testament Prophet who went head-to-head with the Baal prophets to show who the One True God was. (Read more about that here.)

This man who experience God’s supernatural power, later found himself in complete despair, with shaken faith, trying to hear God’s voice. (Have you been there too?) 1 Kings 19:11-13 says:

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

When Elijah looked for God, he found Him. And God’s voice wasn’t in the wind, earthquake, or fire – it was in a gentle whisper.

Momma’s, God still speaks to us today. It’s deep inside of you, an inner knowing. I’d love for you to join me as I learn to discern that voice smack in the middle of my ordinary days. 

Read more faith-building stories…

Growing Your Faith: Imperfect Faith is STILL Faith
Tired Parents, You are Beautifully Exhausted
A Miracle Happens Every Day: Do You See It?
Every Day, In Small Moments – God is Calling You

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