She takes my hand, walks me up the stairs, and leads me through the halls of the elementary school that will become her daily educational home in just a few short days.
It’s Open House night and although to most kindergarteners, everything is new, she walks confidently after spending four weeks in a summer program housed within these walls.
All the sudden I am grateful for those four weeks and for how comfortable she is in a new place with new people all around.
We arrive at the kindergarten hall and find her classroom. Her teacher is new. Not new to teaching or to kindergarten, thankfully, but new to the school. A swarm of last minute kindergarten enrollments sent the classroom size soaring over 23+ and the school scrambled to hire another teacher to add another classroom of kids.
We’re right on time and Ms. Nettles greets us warmly.
She is short in stature but big in personality and I can tell already it’s going to be a good year. She’s attentive and kind and, while a bit overwhelmed at the whirlwind she’s been placed in, she seems completely capable of jumping right in and readying the classroom for the kids to arrive next week.
I do my parent-ly duty, sitting in the tiny blue chair at the tiny table, filling out form upon form upon form, picking up car rider tags, talking to cafeteria ladies about nut allergies and the nut-free table, meeting with the nurse about medications, and sending my husband to collect information about the PTA and various school clubs.
After the whirlwind of papers subsides and we make it back to the minivan, I take a breath.
This is really happening. My little one is really a big girl and is going to school. It’s year one of many years of education with other adults who I pray care about her development just a fraction as much as I do.
And I realize. Change, well it’s not only coming…it’s here!
And just as I’ve been learning in other areas of my life, it’s my PERSPECTIVE that makes the difference as to how we handle the changes that come into our lives.
What things in your life do you need to look at differently?
Maybe you need to be reminded of God’s promises in your life. Or maybe you just need a friend to talk to to gain some perspective on your situation. Whatever it is, I challenge you today to take some time to change the way you looks at things.
You never know, the things you look at…well, they might just CHANGE!