Opening to the Spirit (10/06/2026)

Our bible study group is reading the Acts of the Apostles. And we are coming to understand the role of the Spirit in our world, our lives, and our faith. So, this morning, as I sat outside on my porch in the dark, waking up in the presence of the LORD and appreciating the world around me, I wondered what the day would bring. I always have my plans, but then there’s life which rarely goes exactly as planned. If there’s one thing my 76 years have taught me, it is to be prepared for the unexpected, to be open to the Spirit. And so, this morning, as I sat, I promised the LORD just that. I promised to be open to the Spirit.

Openness doesn’t come easy. We have our plans, and we usually hate it when they are derailed. And then there are people like me who can be real rut people. My life ruts are so well established that they have curbs and road signs. So, when the Spirit tugs me out of my rut, my first instinct can be a nervous tic. No, openness doesn’t come easy.

But openness brings gifts we would never imagine like precious new relationships, new insights from others we encounter, realizations of what we are capable of when necessary, peace and wholeness when we find ourselves forgiving and beginning again. Most of my fondest memories and almost all of my truly formational moments never made my “to do list.” They were the gift of the Spirit, the LORD writing straight with crooked lines. What I would initially label as a detour turned out to be the right path for that moment, for me.

Two necessary components factor into these moments: awareness of others and the willingness to put down what I wanted for what I could see I was being asked to do. Countless times, for instance, while I was serving as a professor and associate dean of formation at a seminary, I would take a needed break from my tasks to clear my mind with a stroll outside for fresh air and beautiful sights only to encounter a seminarian who needed me to notice, listen, challenge, and support.

Some of my dearest friends were the reward of openness to the Spirit. The friend I first encountered in the garden of a Hilton in Flagstaff, Arizona who was dealing with the death of a family member comes to mind. We stay in touch; she has been so supportive of me through the years. And it all started with awareness and the willingness to reach out in the Spirit. I am grateful to the LORD for that opportunity, for that moment that has forever changed my life with the addition of this precious companion.

While working on my bachelor's degree, I had to take a class with a professor who told us our first class to buy colored pencils because he was going to teach us to read deeply. I immediately chalked that class up to "non-sense." Turned out that the Spirit had plans for me and it started with colored pencils. Through the power of the Spirit at work in that professor and at work on me that class was exactly what I needed to realize that what I really wanted to do was to study the scriptures more fully and to even be able to teach them in college or a university.

As we begin another week in our LORD, making our way in faith, hope and love, let us open ourselves to the Spirit and to cooperating with the Spirit’s lead, the Spirit’s gifts, the Spirit’s way. Let us seek to be aware of those around us and willing to set down what we planned for what we discover they need that we can provide knowing that in the end, the reward we receive far outvalues the one we had planned. Let us make our way in Spirit led companionship with one another, loving our LORD and loving one another as the LORD desires that we would. And let us allow the LORD to form us, to inform us, to conform us, to transform us through the power of the Spirit.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.