STAND BY ME

Tonight on my walk with Jay I got to thinking about several things. Well, really, I started out praying about some things, and God started talking to me about various things. In the process, I enjoyed just letting myself meditate on what He was showing me and telling me. Tonight I think I want to share some of it.

I started the walk with Jay going backwards. See, each night we walk the same route so that I can be prepared for dogs on the route. (This helps decrease the possibility of falling during the walk! *grin*) I was praying over a particular situation, and wanted a new perspective on it. God reminded me of a quote.

If you are close to me, you know that I LOVE QUOTES. I even have a journal book on my end table so that any time I hear a good quote I can write it down. I've done this for YEARS. I do the same thing in my classroom as well, I have a quote book on my desk that I write down the things the students say as well. It's been a really neat thing to do!

Back to my walk...tonight on my walk, the Lord reminded me of a quote from the movie STAND BY ME. (I LOVE how God can use ANYTHING to speak to us!) In it, the two boys are walking at the end of their journey and the narrator says, "...it happens sometimes, people come in and out of your life like busboys in a restaurant." Honestly, that quote has stuck with me since I was fourteen and saw that movie.

Tonight as I walked, the Lord showed me specific people who have come and gone out of my life, and EVERY one of them taught me something. He also showed me the people in my life, and how blessed I am to have them running beside me during this season of my life. We talk DAILY about those people, and I had to *grin* as we went through the list. I am one blessed gal. Of course, that led to the list of people who have been in my life and left, either by their choice, my choice, or simply God moving us on to something else. I'm in awe of how AWESOME He is at orchestrating what needs to happen and when it needs to happen.

Some people have hurt me in the past, and I know that's true of everyone. Tonight on my walk, He brought to mind the song "Blessings" by Laura Story, where she sings:

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

He reminded me that this isn't my home. This is temporary. That makes me *grin* as well.

I think about the Laura's, Karen's, Alicia's, Diedra's, and Tricia's that God has placed in my life and I am in awe of how blessed I am. Any of those ladies I could call and say, "I need prayer tonight." They would stop and pray with me. I told God a HUGE Thank You tonight.

Part of my job requires kids to come and go out of my life, but I told God tonight that that was okay. That used to REALLY bother me in the beginning. You pour your heart into teaching kids how to read, write, do math, and be a person of character, and then they're gone. I missed them greatly. But, I know that having them grow up and move on is part of the gig. And, every once in a while, one comes back and says, "Thanks."

You won't be surprised to hear that I ended my walk by checking the mail and I had mail from a former student, thanking me for all the support in the past. *grin* God always knows exactly what we need and when we need it.

*grin*
LIFE.
IS.
GREAT.