“I don’t want to go back to school! Please don’t make me go!” my cries fell on deaf ears.

Somehow I don’t think the teacher is supposed to be making these cries of desperation. Students yes, teachers… well, yes, we do it too! My summer of 65 days is coming to an end this weekend, boy did that go by quickly.

Thankfully my cries of dread never go unheard by my heavenly Father. He always listens and always gives me an answer and calms my spirit. Today, He led me to Philippians 4:6-9 in The Message. It’s a familiar and favorite passage for many but today, read it as an answer to whatever you may be dreading or fretting.

6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

I think it may just come down to choice. Choosing to focus on what is the best, the awesome kids and the beautiful, leading them to discovery instead of the worst, the endless paperwork and ugly, all the extras that come with the job. Choosing to praise Him for a great profession and not complain about the gift.

I love the promise in verse 9, if I do that, focus on the good stuff, then God, who makes things work together, will work you and me into His most excellent harmonies. Having ‘excellent harmonies’ in the classroom is a gift from God and makes the year a real blessing.

So today, as we all face things we’d rather not do, the things we’ve pleaded not to have to do, let’s “put into practice what we have learned” and watch to see how God works it all together. Check out verse 7 again, Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

I’m already feeling ‘settled down,’ how about you? What are you going to choose today?