End of Summer Woes

This is the story of a teenager who did not want her summer to end. I am sure that you are well acquainted with this narrative.

Once upon a time there was a girl who did not want her summer to end. She had had a marvelous adventure and couldn't believe that it was over already. She prayed to God that she could go back in time and relive her days in the Black Hills, Yellowstone, California, and Table Rock, Missouri. She prayed that she could go back to no responsibilities and a worry free life.

Fortunately, God doesn't listen to requests like that.

The last few days of her summer went by swiftly and without incident. It was a Saturday night before she realized that she would be starting school the next week.

She cried and pleaded and bargained with God but he refused to listen. "He knows best," she had to remind herself, even though she didn't always believe it.

Sometimes it is hard to see why we have to move on in life. I often wonder why I can't fastforward from one happy moment to the next. However, I realize that the hard moments in life are the ones that make you stronger and enable you to see more clearly. To be quite honest, school stresses me out to the max. I can't sleep and I can't think straight. I want summer to last forever because I don't want to deal with the burden of struggling to get good grades, finish impossible homework assignments, and making friends.

At least that's how I thought before I read that allowing stress into your life is a sin against God. How can being stressed out be a sin? I mean, it isn't my fault I'm stressed out, it's the twenty page reading assignment that I don't begin until eleven o'clock at night.

But as I continued to read about how worry is sinful I began to understand. When we worry, we are calling God a liar. We are saying that our problems are bigger than he is and we don't believe that he has a plan for our lives.

Philippians 4:4-7 says: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

If you feel worried and stressed out about school, work, or a family situation then pray to God. Give him your fears and trust that he knows what he's doing.