Yesterday had an unexpected blessing. My oldest grandson who is going into the Air Force, leaving next Monday, came to borrow my pickup so he could move this belongings into storage. He plans to spend his last couple days with us. I was busy getting the swimming pool ready for the grandkids’ use. I stopped when he came and we visited for about an hour. It turned into a lengthy conversation about his life’s journey and God’s influence in it. He said he doesn’t always find peace in a day and he tries to busy himself so much that what isn’t peaceful gets lost in the busyness. We talked at length regarding this. I use to do the very same thing. I told him that I often have the day’s struggles on my mind when I awake. When I was a principal I’d have my devotions and would know as soon as I got to school I’d be able to forget for a while the troubling areas. It wasn’t until I retired and took more morning time for devotions that I found the blessing of surrendering torment to God rather than stuffing it into “busyness”.

Today when I am working with a school I allow whatever time is needed to address life for the day with God ahead of leaving. There may be troubles but I don’t leave my devotions carrying them. At least for the moment they are surrendered. I also shared with him what the Serenity Prayer says about “…one day at a time, one moment at a time accepting hardship as a pathway to peace.” Hardship is what God often uses to teach us the importance of surrender. The last piece of the conversation was knowing that surrender may need to happen several times during a day–one moment at a time. God really is the BEST TEACHER!