Is He really there? Is He real?

It has been a couple of weeks since the P.E. teacher asked this question to my students.  He told them to really think about it and be honest with how they felt.  I had a feeling that not all of my students were firm believers, so I was not that surprised when one of them said, "I am not quite sure if I believe all that."  We had never really concretely talked about our walks with God and where we were on the journey.  This response woke me up a bit.  It was an honest response. 

This student has been struggling with the power and idea of God.  This child is very street smart.  He knows for the most part how life works.  He understands grown-up humor (sarcasm), and is the best at getting social cues in my class.  That being said, he has a hard time believing in the unknown.  He plants his solid feet into the known and what he knows.  In all honesty, that is a very easy thing to do.  Faith is hard in that aspect.  Having faith involves such a high balance of trust, that for many, it may seem hard to understand.  Often times during Bible he will just tell me, "Miss, this is just really hard to believe."  And the questions they ask!  Questions that I never asked as a child, because it was stuff that I had always grown up with and accepted to be true.  But these questions the children ask are questions that deserve to be asked.  They make you think about what you believe, and why you believe it.   

Last week this student came forward with a prayer request about his family.  Normally, he does not have a prayer request.  Sometimes if I ask him if he has one, he will think of something to pray about.  This time, he asked for prayer before I could even suggest it.  This shows that gears are clicking.  Gears are clicking, and I am pumped.  True, this student still zones out in Bible class constantly, and I have to struggle with him to say his memory work, but he is getting it.  I pray constantly for this child, and I hope that you will too!  In him, I see the potential to do many great things in life.  I have faith in him, and I hope that his relationship with God will continue to grow. 

Despite some litter, I am fully convinced that I live in a beautiful country.  The sunrises and the sunsets blow me away.  I sometimes just stare out into the world from my balcony and am just taken back by the creation God has made.  To me, it is easy to see God in nature. His power and design are evident.

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?  You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.  You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet, all flocks and herds, the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas." -Psalm 8:3-8

Heal the Anger

2 Corinthians 4:16-18-"Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

I continually find it remarkable how God reminds us of His presence.  One of the teachers this morning made an announcement asking for extra Bibles.  She needed some more Bibles for the students in the Bible room.  Since I currently have 3 students in my class, I knew I would be able to part with some extra Bibles.  After the meeting, I went to my bookshelf to retrieve the Bibles.  While pulling one out, a paper fell from its pages.  On it was listed 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.  As I read it, I very much felt reassured by God.

Over the past couple of months I have been struggling with a friendship.  I had a friendship that in the past I had invested time and trust and was really fighting to keep going.  It took a while to see, but it became clear that the person was no longer interested in being my friend.  Initially, I was very puzzled and confused as to why the person felt this way.  A part of me very much still is confused.  But now, I am hurt by this person, and as a result of this anger has settled into my heart.  I feel that I was used before, and not cool enough to be still considered a friend (the second part is pretty silly for a 24 year old to think who is no longer in school).  Anger has settled into my heart, and I have been praying to God to rid me of this anger.  I, probably like many people, would rather be happy than angry. 

This passage from scripture talks about being steadfast to God.  It talks about focusing on our eternal needs and not our earthly ones.  Though there is anger in my heart, it will only be temporary, just like everything on Earth.  I know that God will help me through the pain I feel in this relationship and that eventually, the anger will disappear.  He has done it before, and God is faithful!

Try and see how God is talking to you today!