School Years

Philippians 1:6 – For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (NASB)

As another school year has started, I have been reminiscing about my school years and those of my children. How exciting it was to go back to school on the first day of September!

As a child, I would always have a new outfit to wear to school the first day. I remember my mother finishing up a new dress after I went to bed. Oh, the excitement of getting up in the morning and seeing my new dress hanging there ready to put on! How I would dance around with the skirt swirling out. Mom would look on with glee as I modelled my new dress, and she would be proud of her accomplishment.

Then, of course, there were shoes to buy. Often my old ones would be way too small and even hurting my feet a little bit before the new school year started. That was because I was growing — which is good and normal. Every year, I was a bit taller and needed new clothes.

It is also good and normal for us to grow as Christians and become more like Jesus. Yes, sometimes, it hurts — just like my old shoes. Hurts can come in many forms. They can be such things as rejection, judgement, or harsh words spoken to us. Hurts can be financial — when we don't know where our next dollar is coming from. Hurts can be physical — a pain, a sickness, a disease. God knows which hurt fits us in order to make us grow. Bit by bit, we do grow and have a new wardrobe — one that pleases Jesus more every year — and one that will be perfect some day in heaven.

Prayer: Jesus, we don't like hurting, but we do want to grow. It seems that often the two go together. Help us to have the eternal view when life hurts, knowing that You are looking on and are pleased that we are growing to become like You. Thank You. Amen.