The First Day (9/05/2023)

Today, in Wisconsin, is the first day of school. Across the state, parents are waking their children to get ready for their first day of school for this academic year. There will be a great deal of anticipation over the breakfast table. Students will be scrambling soon to get their supplies together, if they haven’t already. And off to school they will go. I wonder if they realize that the most important thing for the success of their year isn’t in their book bag nor is it what they are wearing. I wonder if they realize that is their mindset.

Hopefully, we adults in the rooms recognize that. It is amazing how our attitudes impact our future. It would be wonderful if we could pack into a box faith, hope, and love for these young people and assure them that if they will only draw upon them, their lives will lead them where they need to go. Unfortunately, these virtues aren’t available at the dollar store; they don’t neatly fit in a pencil box. We can’t purchase them, but we can acquire them for free through prayer and openness to the LORD in our lives.

As the families across the state were preparing for today, I wonder how many insisted on starting the week in a pew near them. I wonder how many sought the LORD’s blessings and purpose in prayer last evening before bed. I wonder how many today will lead their children in a prayer before the school year begins. I wonder.

As adults in this world, we may or may not be the teachers at the front of the classroom, but we are teachers of our youth. They see how we behave, and they see what we value. What are our values? How have we modeled for them “the Way” in Christ, the rules for the journey? Do we exhibit faith in our LORD, does our joy shout to them of the potential of hope, and does our love for them and for our LORD serve as a light?

We adults aren’t heading off to class this morning as students, but it may be time for us to check our personal “supplies.” It is the first day of the rest of our lives.

Do I have what I need to make this journey? Is my faith sharp? Does my hope open up the possibilities of the world in the company of Christ and the Spirit? Will I fulfill my assignment to love the LORD and others? And will all of that inform my mind, conform my heart, and transform my soul?

Abraham Lincoln once said, “People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” We do have a say in our lives and how they unfold. Every day as we face the day, we have the option of beginning it in the LORD, with the LORD. Every day we have the promise of the Spirit from our Savior. Every day we recognize the importance of love of the LORD and love for one another and vow to honor that come what may will be a good day, not necessarily an easy day, but a good day.

On this first day of the rest of our lives, what shall we ask of the LORD? What supplies do we need? What changes do we need in ourselves? What are our expectations? How deep do our faith, hope, and love run within us?

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.