August 26, 2021: Be My Strength

“God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day” (Ps. 46:5, NIV).

Today, I feel stressed, alone and overwhelmed. I am missing my class, our memories together and all of our missed opportunities. I feel like I don’t have enough time to get my schoolwork done, and I feel like quitting. However, this verse reminds me that I am not alone. God is with me, and He will help me today and tomorrow. With Him, I will not fail.

I once survived a major car accident. God was with me and I didn’t even know it. My mom, dad, and their dog, Moby, were going to Lake Anna in Virginia for the Fourth of July. Suddenly a spinner hubcap flew off the car in front of us. My dad swerved, and our car’s wheel fell off! We ran off the side of the road and into a tree at 70 mph! The tree traveled halfway up the hood of the car, and all of the side windows shattered on them. Moby ended up on my dad’s lap, unharmed. My parents had to crawl out of the rear doors, and my mom was taken to the hospital.

The ER doctors told my mom, who was 12 weeks pregnant with me, that she could go home, but if she started bleeding, it would be due to a miscarriage. Fortunately, my grandpa was an attending doctor at the hospital and ordered an ultrasound of his grandchild. At first my parents didn’t hear a sound and got really scared. Finally, they heard my heartbeat! God was with us.

Thank You, God, for always being with me, even when I don’t know it. Please help me to turn to You every day. Be my strength. Amen.

Katie Pacylowski is an eighth-grader at the Shenandoah Valley Adventist Elementary School in Virginia.