“Indeed, God is my salvation; I will trust him and not be afraid, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation.”        Isaiah 12:2

Months ago I started noticing pennies. They seemed to be everywhere I went. They would show up in random places or right in my path as I ran errands. I started picking them up and now have quite a collection. If I am wearing something that has a pocket, I make sure to carry one along. This might seem odd, but hear my reasoning. It serves as a reminder because of the words inscribed on each coin – “In God We Trust”. Each penny is a physical reminder of where to place my trust. At times my eyes, heart and mind can forget with all I see. Do you do the same?

With a new school year right around the corner, I will have plenty of opportunities to worry if I so choose. I will try and place my trust in myself and what I think I can control. What if the kids do not have friends? What if there is a car accident? What if college plans fail? What if….? With each “what if” I will say it is God whom I trust. He will give me strength on the days when I am tired. He will keep me quiet and calm when nothing around remotely comes close to these beautiful words if I allow Him too. I will remember this verse as I go about my day. “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders.” (Deuteronomy 33:12). I do love the Lord with all my heart and I know He loves me and therefore I can rest. His love does not depend on my performance or lack of. On the days that I fail, His love does not change. When I forget He is trustworthy, He loves me still. Nothing is more secure than His love. I find rest in His love.

Last year I bought each of the kids a bracelet that had one word of encouragement on it. My husband wore one to serve as reminder to pray for our kids during the day. I wanted something visible to remind them that they belong and are loved. The bracelets wore out, but the belonging and love never will. This year I will be placing a penny in each of their backpacks, all 7 of them. Each time they reach in and their fingers brush over the penny, I pray they remember where to place their trust. If their day is good, trust God. If their day is horrible, trust God. And all the in between days, trust God.

Scripture says this of our trustworthy God, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalms 84:11). God will light each of our children’s path and shield them from anything that will not result in their good or His glory. Sometimes this can be a bit hard to comprehend because we cannot see all He does. Trust Him anyway when nothing makes sense. He will not keep any good thing from His children. Again, we cannot always see the whole picture. Just think about all the good things we have asked for, but a little further down the road we are so thankful we were not given what we asked. There has been plenty of things I have asked for from God and He has not given. I trust that He knows what He is doing and that He loves me. He has my good and His glory in mind.

One of our children has learned a wonderful lesson in trust this summer. As parents, we have a different view than our kids. Faith changes you and the love of the Father brings a security like nothing else can. Because we know whom to ask for wisdom, He helps us guide our kids. This particular child was pretty adamant about what he would not participate in at school. Knowing what we know and feeling strongly about this decision, we guided our child to join a team. Turns out he loves it. Would he have chosen this on his own? No, but is now glad we did. He is actually shining now and we are so thankful! I will apply this to myself and trust my Heavenly Father’s leading. He might lead in a way that I do not like or see as good, but He knows best. I have seen Him do this time and time again, and each time, while sometimes painful, I would not change His plans. He is so worthy of our trust and the cross is the ultimate expression of how much He loves us. God, who sent His only Son to die for all the times we have chosen not to trust Him and sin, died anyway for each of us. Knowing all He knows about us, I would say this is trustworthy love. Where are you placing your trust today?

*As I type this one child is singing, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. The Lord your God is with you.” Praise God! He understands where he is to place his trust.