9Have I not
commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be
discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
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by Lavinia
Facebook news
feeds everywhere are blowing up with denial posts and good luck wishes. Friends
send each other their schedules and go back to school shopping together—the
mall kind, not the supplies—and something familiar is in the air. Is it
excitement? Is it dread? Could it be the uncertainty of a new school year?
For many of us, school
can be a harrowing place where one must constantly be on top of work and
extracurricular activities, fending off nagging parents and dodging fake
friends. Personally, I know the weight of outside influences; the terrible
feeling when it seems that society has finally pinned you down.
Life is
overwhelming, or so they want you to believe.
The last school
year of 2011-2012, I walked into September with a new attitude and a changed
outlook. I decided I would leave behind past mistakes and old betrayals, and I
would put myself forward to make new friends. And I did; I made many friends
and got to know people better than I had before.
But towards the
end of the year, I was feeling a little burnt out what with school work and
testing, extracurriculars and clubs, keeping up a social life and also doing
things that I wanted to do. I was also feeling as though my friends weren’t really my friends, if you know what I
mean.
I felt
abandoned.
That was when I
started to look for comfort in other things. I took my focus off of the Lord. I
was too lazy to go to Sunday school, and often left church without feeling as
though I’d learned anything. I spent more time pursuing and fretting over small
or unnecessary things, things that would easily have been taken care of had I
put God before all else.
But even as I
had demoted God on the priority list, he was still with me, every step of the
way. Joshua realized this, and the only way he crossed the Jordan and took down Jericho
was by putting his full trust in the Lord, knowing that He was with Israel
And now as I
begin my junior year, “the busiest year of any high school career,” I know that
the Lord is with me; he will provide the opportunities, the words, and the
courage that I need, no matter what the situation is. Whether we are entering a
new school, overcoming a major obstacle, or hoping to reshape our approach to
schoolwork or maybe to life in general, God is always with us.
Everything will
be okay.
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