Perspective

Some mornings as I'm pulling out, I see the school bus come by and pick up little kids from our apartment complex.  Some mornings I have to stop for the bus, but even if I'm in a hurry I don't mind.  I love seeing the little ones with there backpacks as big as they are, dressed in their cute little-kid clothes. They look much more excited than I do about starting the day so early.  One day a couple of weeks ago, amid my stress from testing taking I had to stop for the first time for the bus on my way home.  I smiled to myself in the car because I was going to get to see the cute little girls unload excited to be home for the day.  Really, I was thinking, "those kids have it so simple.  It was so nice back in elementary, you don't have huge exams to study for and you might even get naptime."  So I stopped for the red flashing lights on the bus, and a minute later the little girl got off, her backpack slung low over one shoulder, nearly dragging it behind her, and the biggest frown on her face.
And then I realized - just because she's a kid doesn't mean she doesn't have her own troubles.  It doesn't mean her day was full of fun at school.  There I was thinking my problems were bigger than hers because my plate was full for the week, and she's just a kid.
And my problems of stress and school seem small when I compare them to what other people are going through.
But the truth of the matter is that we are all important to God, and He is bigger than all of our problems - no matter who we are.  He cares about the little girl who may have been picked on at school and came home crying.  He cares about me making it through this path that He is leading me on.  He is in control of it all, even though I'm not.  And His plans are greater than anything I could dream of.

Thanks for the reminder, Lord.