Lunch Box Note

Ephesians 3:14-21 (New King James Version)

14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—
19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (www.biblegateway.com)

Today is my oldest daughter's first day of school. I asked my husband to take off work since I was most likely going to cry from 8:30 to 12:15. This is all I've done for 5 1/2 years is take care of her. It's almost as if I don't remember the teacher and woman I was before her. And that's okay.

Paul remembers what he was like before Christ just enough to stay humble. He cares for the Ephesians like a parent cares for a child. He loves them almost like a parent loves a child. (It could never be the same.) And the end of Chapter 3 here is probably similar to many notes he has put in their lunch boxes before.

Annie has one in hers right now and she doesn't know it. It's a simple "I Love You" in pictures. (It is, after all, only Kindergarten!) But when we say "I Love You" to our kids, aren't we thinking what Paul is thinking? I know I was...
...may your Spirit be strengthened so you won't be afraid on your first day.
...may Christ dwell in your heart through faith so you won't worry.
...may you feel rooted and grounded in love.
...may you know the love of Christ which passes knowledge and feel comforted and confident.
...may you be filled with the fullness of God.

Now, it may seem a bit overkill for Kindergarten, but I'll bet any one of you have felt the exact same thing for your child at any given point in their lives. Well, this is life for me now and this is major. I want her to know how much her Savior loves her so that she will never lack for Spiritual confidence in this world. And on something as simple as her first day of school, I want her to know that Jesus and I are backing her up with any experience she may encounter.

In the movie, "Princess Bride," Wesley serves the young maid Buttercup and answers her every request with the phrase "As you wish." After a while, she soon realizes that what he's really saying is "I love you." I sure hope that every time I tell my kids I love them, that they know what that really means and how I could never explain it in a simple phrase.

Happy First Day of School, Annie!
I love you!