Wednesday morning, I was doing my usual morning walk with Sophie, our Golden Retriever. It was a beautiful morning. It wasn’t too hot, and it wasn’t too cool. It was one of those “just right” kind of mornings. The sun was shining…and so were the faces of children and parents that I saw along the course of our journey. You see, Wednesday was the first day of school. That meant that Sophie and I got to witness several “First day of School Pictures” that were being taken. The parents, with camera or cell phone in hand, were proud and a bit grieving all at the same time. The children, for the most part, were excited and happy, ready to start this new adventure. Yes, there were a few highschoolers who I could tell were rolling their eyes and pasting on the obligatory smile to get the picture over with.
Of course, along with the smiling faces of the children, there was usually a backpack involved, stuffed with school supplies, maybe a snack, and a lot of hopes and dreams about what this school year was going to be like. I wish all these children well as they start into the new year. And parents, be sure to have your children bring their backpack to church with them this Sunday, August 21, because Becky will be leading us in the blessing of the backpacks!!
Now I realize not many of us adults carry backpacks with us into our day of work, running errands, and doing the adult things we adults do. But some of us do carry briefcases, book bags, toolboxes, and other things that contain the items we need for the day. So, the question I want to ask is this, “What are we carrying with us into this day or year that will help us learn and grow and help us develop into more mature human beings and more faithful followers of Jesus?”
You see, children and youth go off to school, in most cases, with the expectation they are going to learn some things. They probably wouldn’t be able to verbalize it, but the truth is, they won’t be the same on the last day of school as they are on the first day. Last Day of School pictures show the physical changes, but they don’t really show the inner-being changes that also take place.
So, as we see the children, youth, and others from our community going off to school, the question I want to ask is this, “What are you hoping to learn in the year to come? What are you going to do to keep growing and maturing as you make your way in life? Please understand that as I write these questions, I also aim them right back at myself. What if each of us took the opportunity to sit down with one of the many talented, gifted, and caring teachers in our congregation and asked them to help us write up an Individual Learning Plan for the 2022-2023 School year?
And of course, as we think about learning and growing, part of my hope would be that we include in our ILP an aspect of where we want to learn and grow in our spiritual and faith life. Where might God be nudging each of us to learn and grow as followers of Jesus? Jesus was continually pressing his followers to learn and grow and think in new ways, and I have no doubt he is still doing that today.
OK, class…take out a blank piece of paper and a pencil or pen and start writing out your own ILP for the year to come. May we not be the same people next May that we are today.
Serving Together,
Pastor Keith