Goodbye, Summer. Adios, Students.

I only recently learned the literal meaning of the expression “adios.” I had always assumed it meant goodbye or see you later. I wasn’t entirely off. But a friend who has recently moved back to the States from Colombia explained, it means “Go with God.” It’s a benediction of sorts.

In our small town, the end of summer is always marked by the traffic light in front of the local school, one of three lights in our town, changing from flashing yellow back to a sequence including green and red. It always happens the last weekend before the semester begins. It just changed last Saturday. Sigh.

So, with the start of a new school year let me say, “Goodbye, summer. Adios, students.” As you transition back into school, and bid farewell to the dog days of summer, may God be with you. As the Proverbs tell us, “Commit your way to the Lord and he will establish your steps.”

Here’s three quick tips for getting things off to a good start:

First, don’t panic. God’s got this. A new school year can carry a lot of anxiety, so start your year off by trusting in the Lord with all your heart. Cast your anxieties upon him. He cares for you!

Second, make prayer a normal part of you morning tradition. My pastor has a W.A.R. prayer he prays before getting out of bed each morning. He prays for God to direct his Words, his Attitudes, and his Responses. Not a bad way to start the day.

Finally, find a new friend this year. Pray the Lord will give you someone you can encourage who seems lonely. You’ll find you have far less influence upstream with kids higher on the social ladder than you. Elevating your popularity is an endless and ever-elusive pursuit. But you can have a lot of impact by looking the opposite direction, towards those who on the margins, sitting alone, passed over, perhaps even bullied. The kids at the “popular table” at lunch will in all probability forget you, but that kids sitting by themselves at the other end of the cafeteria will remember your kindness for years to come.

Who are you going to focus on this year? How are you shape your morning routines in a productive way? What will you do with your stress and insecurity as you walk those hallways?

Now that summer is fading memory in your rearview mirror, even as you get ready to walk out the door with a backpack in tote, go with God. Adios.