Summer's Over!!! I thought I would be so sad today. I always am sad for a week when the kids go back to school. Lazy days are over, routines begin and work starts for us again. This year life seems different than most!
It's the beginning of a new chapter, a happy chapter. With so much pain and disappointments in middle school I'm glad we are starting over. I've said so many times that high school is a second chance for Abby. I have prayed for the past three years that she would make new friends. I wanted her to make friends at church so she would want to be there. This summer was the start of the new beginning.
How blessed I feel to have made the switch to our church almost three years ago. In a smaller setting you can get to know people and be known by people. I think that is one of our deepest longings. I could have never asked for a more passionate or zany pastor for Abby who deeply loves the kids and loves Jesus! I couldn't have asked for a better group of kids. We saw a remarkable turning point in all of them this summer and I am deeply thankful! It is such a great place to be, to be in the midst of a car full of kids going from place to place, to hear the chatter and the laughter, knowing that they enjoy being together.
While high school brings uncertainty, especially attending freshman orientation and hearing an hour lecture by the Scottsdale Police Department about DUI, kids taking drugs and not being able to trust any kid for one moment, I was not filled with fear. In the car I was asked if I felt the same level of "untrust" as was mentioned in the lecture. While I don't believe that any child is above making the "wrong choices", I feel that relationships with parents or lack of are building blocks or stepping stones for future decisions. I thank God that Abby is now part of an awesome church youth group. I feel thankful that she is surrounded by a lot of good girls and some strong women role models at the ranch where she rides horses. I also feel very thankful that she will be attending a school where the teachers care about each student and know them by name. I also feel thankful that she is surrounded by adults at church who care about her as a person!
I truly believe in the statement that it takes a community to raise a child that as a parent you can't do it alone. It is an awesome privilege watching your child become a responsible young adult. I love our school's three corner stones for character: reverence (for our Creator), respect (for others) and responsibility. While these four years ahead are going to pass us by too quickly, I am so excited that I will have a front row seat in this journey and that I am chosen to be the one who will be the chauffeur and cheerleader and coach. I am expecting that God is going to do great things not only in the life of my daughter but in all of the other kids that will be surrounding her!!! Here's to new beginnings...
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