The first day of school was today, and honestly it was the best first day of school I've ever had..... Well except for the Pankow rain situation, hahaha.
I started the day off normally by getting like 3 hours of sleep because I can never sleep before the first day. It was weird how excited I was for the first day. Just to be in the place that has always been my safe haven. I think part of the reason I've had really good attendance is because I never wanted to stay home. School was something I would get really upset about ending every June. The absolute best part of the day was reuniting with my best friend Yvonne. She spent the whole summer in Mexico and just recently came back and every time we planned to get together something messed up. So the first day of school was gonna be the day I saw her for the first time in about 3 months. It was probably the best feeling in the world when I heard her scream, "Brendleeee" from down the hall. Instantly we were booking it down the hallway towards each other to reunite with a hug. It was so nice to see her again and she promised she would never leave for that long again hahaah. Having her back in my daily life, having my other best friends Sarah and Nicole in my second hour (sorry Mrs. Youngs hahahah) and having my Narwhale sister and Yvonne in my lunch just made the day perfect.
It was early in the morning when I was waiting to leave when I told myself; "You have an advantage over everyone at LCN today. You have two of the most amazing guardian angels in the world- and they will be with you every step of the way". Telling myself that even though sounds pathetic, made me happy and focused on reaching my goal of honoring my dads and grandmas wish to do my best.
A few months ago while going through a box of my dads stuff I found the most inspiring piece of paper I've ever had. It was a note from my dad to me in 8th grade. The note read; that's all I ask is for you to do your best. Keep going the way you are doing and you'll get to where you want in life - dad. That note gave me the courage to stride for more than my best everyday.
A message we talk a lot about in church is hope; because Jesus is our hope for tomorrow. He's our promise. Until today, i believed it but hadn't experienced that feeling of true hope for brighter days ahead. April and May were rough- but now that it's September i can look back and see all the stages of grief i went through. It's not done. The cycle will go on and on but personally i think i've done a really good job to adjusting to this "new normal". I have really bad days but there is less and less of them. There IS hope for tomorrow because Jesus Christ gave up His life for me, because He loves me unconditionally, He's the father to the fatherless and because with Him ALL things are possible.
There's a song in church that i fell in love with a few years ago. It's called Our God and is sung by Chris Tomlin. There's a verse in there that sticks with me like a tattoo on my heart. " And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us- and if our God is with us then what could stand against us?" Those are powerhouse lyrics. Because truthfully- who is to tell us we can't reach our dreams? NO ONE. The lyrics can be used in so many different situations, but they make me smile and realize there is hope for tomorrow.
So what ever is going on in your life- lay it at the cross. That's why Jesus died for us isn't it? If you're having trouble understanding something, or things just don't seem to be working out right, trust me. I may only be 16 but i know that laying down my burdens at the feet of Jesus is the only reason why in this storm of a life i have i can still smile. My prayer tonight is that i have more amazing days like this. Today was great. It's going to be a GREAT school year!
