As the mother of a new Kindergarten student, life is a-changin'. After over two years in daycare where his schedule changed with mine. Now our lives are paced by the SDoL schedule. No more trips to Michigan with Mom or Dad in the middle of a term. No more four day school weeks just because. Jeremy and I are now parents of a School District of Lancaster student.We are pleased that Aaron is adjusting well so far and that he has a great teacher, Mrs. Combs. And yet I can't believe my little baby is now beginning the first steps of his education career. Aaron has his first job -- School.
Do you remember your first days of school? I look back and remember Mom and Dad taking my picture on the front porch of the house before I left. I also remember my brother Andy and his friend Chris refusing to be walked to school by Mom and that they can do it by themselves. And they did.
Our world is so different today. Mrs. Combs doesn't even let her Kindergarten students out of the building until she can identify their appointed person. Times are a-changin'.
Life is truly filled with many moments of transition. When we finally think we have it all figured out, it seems like the rules change. What works in Preschool doesn't work in Kindergarten. What works in Elementary doesn't work in High School. And the rules for home are very different than at school or out in the community or at church.
God also has growing expectations for our lives as well. Scripture reminds us that no matter how much we want to stay little and stick with what has been expected of us, God urges and expects us to grow and mature.
Hebrews 5:12-14 says: "By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one—baby's milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God's ways; solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong."
It seems there is always a dichotomy between wanting to grow, to learn, and to be stretched with wanting things the same and being able to expect that.
Scripture reminds us that faith is not meant to be static but dynamic -- to grow and mature and to cause us to reframe our understanding of the world and ourselves along the way.
Maybe in some ways we continually are Kindergarteners and at the same time Seniors -- we are teacher and student. There are continual transitions that are always afoot. However, we also know that God is constantly present with us on our journey and we worship an unchanging and faithful God.
My prayer for you this month is that as transitions, change, or nudges begin to make you aware of the movement of your lives, may you sense God's guiding presence by your side leading you in the direction needed for your life. May we each open our hearts to God's leading.
