Colossians 1

May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.          Colossians 1:11:14

I woke up this morning in an un-good mood.  Not foul, just depressed and inclined to see the dark, hopeless side of life.  I mourned the absence of D, pondered the meaning of his growing up, that we have become obsolete to him now.  I wondered if he would ever have need of us again or if we are now and forever only a burden, a source of guilt to him and a burden for which he has to periodically interrupt his real life to drive two hours to see us for a weekend.

I inwardly fumed at L and R, my unwilling students.  Dragging them through these high school years is exhausting.

Then driving home from dropping L off at dance this afternoon, I thought I was going to fall asleep at the wheel.  I closed my eyes at stoplights, trying to time it so I would open them again in time for the green.  When I got home I had exactly one hour before I had to leave and get her again.  I said hello to R, then went upstairs and collapsed on my bed, dropped off to sleep immediately and woke up 55 minutes later feeling completely renewed.  Happy day!

But those stressful morning hours when I was doing my best to slog through L's schoolwork with her, really nothing more than sleepiness was the root of the trouble, but it reminded me that this work God has given me is not easy and it does require endurance.  L and R are beautiful, gifted individuals, but they are not academically inclined.  It's my job for now to drag them through these necessary academics, no matter how unwilling they are, and it does require patience and endurance.

I was thankful for this verse in Colossians because it reminded me that I can have joy in this work as I do the work God has assigned me with patience and endurance, because He has transferred me from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son.  It is my joy to do the work He has given me even if some days are trying, because someday this will all be over and I will be with Him in His Kingdom.