{easy}

What is easy?
It is easy get involved in every day life and put God in a box.
It is easy to push Him to the side and say "I've got this."
It is easy to listen to the temptations of the devil telling you you can't handle the stress.
It's easy to get caught up and overwhelmed.

It's hard to completely put our trust in God.
It's hard to give it over to God and let Him handle our stress.
It's hard to remember to pray when we are at our best and at our worst.

Since school started in early August it has been easier for me to push God to the side and wallow in self pity. It has been easy for me to say "well, maybe I'll just quit, I can't handle the stress."

While on my drive to Louisville with just Polo and me in the car, I had a lot of time to think and pray.
I honestly felt God talking to me saying "Brooke, I put you in that position for a REASON." You see, before I ever got a job I prayed. I prayed that God would place me where HE saw fit, not me! I wanted so badly to teach REGULAR ED. I was uncomfortable changing diapers of a 10 year old and I did NOT want to do it. I prayed. What did God do? Put me in a situation where I thought I would be uncomfortable and taught me to TRUST Him. My first year, I did just that and I fell in LOVE with my job. The life of a special education teacher is not easy. It's not easy changing 12 diapers a day while potty training 2 others, writing IEP's, and meeting IEP goals. But that is where God wanted me.

 Over the past month since school has started I've had a hard time managing stress and work. It has been easy to be negative about life and about my job. God tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me to trust in him. So on that drive last weekend, I prayed. I prayed that God would work on my heart, change my attitude, and HELP me! I made the decision to have a better attitude towards work and you know what? It WORKED! I went to school on Monday and told my assistants, "I promise from this week forward I am going to stay positive, not raise my voice, and give these children the love they deserve."

I cannot help these students on my own, I NEED God and I  need to show my students God's love. Many of my students do not have fathers, they do not have running water at home, they have few clothes, and some are forced to skip supper. I need to love these children like Christ loves me. It's not about ME it's about the students!

God has not been speaking but YELLING this message to me in the past week that there is no problem TOO big for His power and no problem too small for His worry! HE CARES! Our lives are shaped by our thoughts. The mind is so so powerful! "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he... {Prov. 23:7}

I encourage you to give your worries to God and consciously decide "I cannot do this own my own". The mind is a powerful thing. We need not let our worries take over our daily lives or life will pass us by.