Lifelong Learning

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord. Psalm 89:15

In the idyllic summers of my early childhood, our family would venture into the woods by our home to pick wild blackberries. It was great fun to explore the woods seeking out the berry bushes. We ate plenty in the woods with hands stained blue, and I can still taste the delicious berries! I usually ended up exhausted on my dad’s shoulders as we walked homeward down the forest path. Once home we helped mom in the blackberry jam canning operation. It was a lot of hot work, but there’s nothing like the reward of homemade jam! And of course, we shared with our neighbors! Mom recently taught my daughter how to can peaches. Now she has a new skill that was fun to learn while making new connections with her grandparents. It was a lot of work, but she was rewarded with freshly canned peaches for her family to enjoy over the summer.

We’re never too young or too old to learn something new. Learning opens up the world to us in new ways as we gain knowledge and skills and connect with new people. It helps us gain confidence in new accomplishments and gives us the ability to share our knowledge with others. Sometimes we can be hesitant to learn new things, but it really helps us to grow! My recent learning is taking a Mindful Meditation class. It is changing the ways I connect with myself and others by being more present in daily life. We can also continue to learn and grow in our faith as we put it into practice in daily life each new day. There is always something new to learn from scripture, because it is the living Word of God.

What have you been wanting to learn lately? What is stopping you? I encourage you to take the first step and dive in this summer to learn something new. You will be blessed to be a blessing to others and hopefully you will learn something about yourself, connect with others in new ways, and have some fun while you’re at it!

Learning for life, Pastor Andrea