As a first grade teacher for many years, I found that most of my students came to school ready to learn new things to help them grow in their abilities to be successful.  In fact, one of the things I wanted to teach them was to be a life-long learner.  While I knew that to be true, there were times I also wanted my life to be problem free with few if any changes, a sameness.  Maybe it made me feel more in control of my life. However, God has shown me, especially in the last few years, that I am really not in control of my life; He is!

As I have read and studied scripture, one theme stands out for me—love.  As Jesus explained in Luke 10:27, the greatest commandments are love God and love your neighbor as yourself.  So how do I put those into practice in light of current events?  How would God want me to respond?  Is He calling me to stay on the path of sameness in my thinking and actions?  Or is He calling me onto a new path, one in which I can grow to be more of the person He created me to be with new ways of thinking, a shift in attitude, looking at issues with another’s point of view, expressing more of His love for all of His creation, change or sameness?  I haven’t figured it all out yet, but one thing I hope will never change:  my longing to learn and grow so I can become more like the person God wants me to be.

Dear Lord, it’s so hard to make changes sometimes, especially in me!  Open my eyes to the ways I need to change so I can walk closer to You and share Your love with others.  Amen