For this reason I kneel before the Father, from

whom every family in heaven and on earth

derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious

riches he may strengthen you with power

through his Spirit in your inner being, so that

Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and

established in love, may have power, together

with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how

wide and long and high and deep is the love of

Christ,  and to know this love that surpasses

knowledge-that you may be filled to the

measure of all the fullness of God.

EPHESIANS 3:14-19

It's amazing how God works!

If you have read my posts for the past several days, you know tha I have struggled to get back into a groove of having around 140 students a day in a school that is in crisis (this means the state has taken over the school and people from Frankfort do observations regularly), I have found myself feeling overwhelmed, burdened, and on the verge of tears (or crying) daily.

Yesterday, God placed me in the paths of several teachers whom I have loved and respected for years.......

teachers who make a difference in the lives of students daily.

teachers who seem to have it all together....

And guess what I learned?

They have had tears too.

They have felt overwhelmed too.

They have been struggling to balance life too.

We decided to all pray for each other, and I walked away from each conversation feeling a little less alone.

As I reflected on all of this last night and then read Ephesians 3 this morning, I realized something.

When Paul knelt before the throne of God, he lifted up OTHERS not himself.

He said, "I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen YOU."

He didn't ask God for more strength for himself.

He didn't whine about his conditions, his problems, his sacrifices for others.

So, this morning as I began to pray while getting ready for school, I thought of my friends and their struggles.

I thought of all of you and specifically what many of you are facing in life.

I prayed for each of them by name, and I prayed for all of you.

I asked God to strengthen all of you....

AND GUESS WHAT?!?!?!?

I feel stronger this morning than I have on any other day since school began.

I love God.

His ways are so opposite of what I think or feel.

He is all about me letting go of myself so that He can fill me up with Him.

He wants to do the same for you.

When we let go of "us," then we can be there for others.

Now I'm thinking of ways I can be an encourager to my fellow teachers.

Cards, notes, small gifts on their desks...that's the person I want to be.

I have a list of ideas and I feel excited.

How can you be an encourager for someone around you today?

It sure helps me forget about my stress when I get to the place where I can be "the reliever of stress" for someone else.

Thank you, Lord, for answering prayers not by always making life easier but definitely by  stretching us to be better people.

Thank you for helping me replace my "I" with "you,"