A Message from Pastor Rhea: Am I Still Learning?

One of the things I often hear in conversation with others goes something like this: “As you get older, you realize…” or “the older you get, you stop worrying about…” This is a statement that always gives me pause. Not because it isn’t true, or doesn’t reflect the actual experience of the person saying it.

It gives me pause because I’m reminded that what we’re talking about is not “getting older.” What we’re talking about is maturing. About letting our experiences, our circumstances, and in particular our faith teach us and re-teach us, re-order our priorities, anxieties, insecurities, and frustrations in light of how we’ve seen God at work around us.

Getting older is unavoidable. Maturing is not, but is the result of our choices and attitudes as we get older. So as I reflect on once again entering a new season, a new school year, and once again having myself completed another journey around the sun, I find it meaningful and necessary to look at my own not-quite-youthful reflection in the mirror and ask, “How am I growing? How am I more mature than I was? Am I closer to Jesus, more like him than I was yesterday? A year ago? A decade?”

Another way to ask the question is this: “Am I still learning?” I pray that each of us, in whatever circumstance we find ourselves, is humble enough, is mature enough, to grow and learn from Jesus, from one another, and from our experience.

See you Sunday!
Rhea