One of my closest friends just retired this week from the United States Army. Her career started as an inexperienced Second Lieutenant and peaked as a Colonel, and reflecting on its entirety, I couldn’t be more proud. Her combat boots saw action in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia. In the United States, those boots touched numerous military bases, including the headquarters of the Department of Defense, the Pentagon itself. But as of this week, her life is about to change. Drastically. She must have dozens of questions: What will I do? Where will I go? What’s next?
We all go through times of transition. Sometimes we know change is coming and other times we are blindsided by it. Either way, it might help to know God saw it coming and is planning to help. Psalm 121:8, “The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in.” Wherever you’re headed, God has you covered. He’s not going to abandon you in this time of transition. God is even instructing His angels to guide you in this change. “Look, I’m sending an angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared.” (Exodus 23:20) God is arranging things in your favor! You don’t have to be worried or afraid. You can take a deep breath and choose to trust. Instead of looking back, look forward-then you can embrace the beauty in this next season. “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) Here’s my suggestion: grab a blanket, sit back, and expect to be amazed. Here’s why: the future before you is a fireworks display: exploding with beauty, bathed in light, and sparkling with possibility.
Recently, I had the opportunity to paint an accent wall in a teenager’s room with a chevron design (think Charlie Brown’s t-shirt, with pink and gray for the colors). On another wall I painted Disney quotes, which brought to mind that sometimes we need to change our outlook on life. A few of the phrases were, “…because hakuna matata (translation: ‘no worries…’) and the bear necessities will always be our guide…” My personal favorite was “We believe in happy endings.” Although these lines are from Disney movies, they carry a good message.
In the movie ‘Finding Nemo,’ there’s a funny scene where a group of fish are going to school. A few of the younger fish see a boat in the distance and wonder what it could be. One thinks he knows and says it’s called a butt. In the scene, they dare each other to swim out and touch it. (Don’t judge me, I didn’t write the movie). Since then, when I swim at a beach with my niece, we try to swim all the way out to the ‘butt’, (AKA the buoy). It’s not a simple feat. The distance to the buoy makes it difficult and the waves moving to shore are pushing against us. We press on and keep the buoy in sight, yelling encouragement to each other as we go. As we come close to it, it’s bobbing all over in the water, so it’s hard to touch. Finally successful, one of us yells, “I touched the butt!”
I believe in angels. One of the reasons I believe is related to the car accident I had about 8 years ago. Most of that night remains a blur; I didn’t hear the sirens of the ambulance, the State Highway Patrol, or the sheriff’s car that arrived at the scene. But there are 3 comments I distinctly remember. From the patrol officer on duty, “I can’t believe I am getting to talk to you. We always get called out for fatalities on that road.” The Emergency Room doctor said, “You must have someone watching over you.” Lastly, the EMT driving the ambulance, “You must have angels watching over you.” Psalm 91:11-12 agrees, “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” 
I’m thankful I live in the ‘Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.’ The privileges we get from living in the United States far outweigh the number of challenges we face. I can’t help thinking about all the men and women who sacrificed their time, their families, and sometimes their lives to allow us to live in peace in this great country of ours. ‘American Soldier,’ Toby Keith’s song expressing the thoughts of the military, may say it best. “Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand… I’m out here on the front lines, so you can sleep in peace tonight…” With a grateful heart, I say thank you to the military for defending and protecting the United States so we can live in peace.
I am fortunate to drive a car that is very reliable, 99% of the time. One Saturday it didn’t start when I was headed to a toddler’s birthday party. That’s bad timing! I called a towing company and they arrived three hours later. They determined it was just a dead battery, so they jumped it and off they went. I left immediately for a late arrival to the party but had to stop for gas and the battery instantly died there. Can you guess what happened the next place I went? (If you guessed dead battery, you get the prize today. It’s found in the next paragraph so keep reading). The car was eventually taken into the shop where it received a whole new battery. Not having a faithful car, (for even just a day), led to one disappointment after another.
One year, my family took a vacation to Lake Tahoe. We lugged a variety of suitcases and backpacks through the airport to check-in. As we stood in the long line waiting, we watched as dozens of bags were weighed, identifications shown, and seat assignments given. When we finally got to the front of the line, they weighed my sister-in-law’s bag and discovered it was too heavy to meet the weight requirements. So right there in front of everyone she had to open her luggage and lighten the load. Digging through well-packed clothes, carefully placed shoes, and strategically placed accessories, she decided what items would be left behind. Quite frankly, she really wanted to take it all with her.
As a teacher, I need certain credentials on my resume. An employer would be interested in my knowledge of curriculum, instructional practices, and classroom management and discipline. On the other hand, two of my brothers are carpenters and their resumes look incredibly different from mine. I’m sure they wouldn’t be the least bit interested in state standards. And trust me, you don’t want me holding a power tool. (Let’s just say there may have been a time when damage was done…) There’s definitely a skillset to every profession.
Have you ever tried to restore an old piece of furniture? It’s not easy. This summer my niece found an old beat-up dresser at a barn sale. Somehow that old dusty, paint-peeling specimen of furniture found its way into my garage. The first thing I did was wipe the cobwebs and dust it off to see what it looked like underneath, (not a lot better, truth be told). The hinges were crooked, the paint was peeling, and some of the handles were missing. So I scraped, sanded, and scrubbed it; then began the slow process of painting it layer by layer. It took awhile and I had to backtrack a few times, but today the sparkling white dresser sits in my niece’s bedroom with shiny new handles and a whole new outlook on life.
A very unusual phenomenon happened this week in our area-a number of schools were cancelled for the whole day because of fog. The adults were certainly surprised but the kids were nothing but excited. Not snow, not freezing rain, but fog kept them at home! Kids love an extra day off from school. Could it happen again? Some teachers told the students it’s unlikely but the students refused to believe it. Why? They were filled with hope.