Back to School 
Pause
For most of us, a new school year has begun. A time when we come back and see old friends we haven’t seen for a while. We have changed, many times physically, emotionally, and maybe even spiritually. We have been changed by summer experiences and relationships of which only we know.
What was your summer like?
How have you been changed?
Let us now listen for where God meets us in these changes.
Listen
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Have no regard for his appearance or stature, because I haven’t selected him. God doesn’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the Lord sees into the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7
Think
Whether we are in middle school, high school, or even college, it can be so attractive to try and be someone we are not. We think, if I can dress this way or that way, then surely more people will like me. We are sure that if we just act differently we will fit in better, or be more easily accepted.
Unfortunately, lots of adults (including me) can tell you, that feeling never goes away. As we grow older, we continue to feel inside that we could and even should be better all the time. It is good to have a positive attitude towards change, and it is normal to want to improve ourselves, but it is also important to remember today’s passage: “Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the Lord sees into the heart.”
In Happy Birthday to You! (1959), Dr. Seuss says, “Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!”
Randall Curtis
Pray
Lord, thank you for loving me for who I am. Help me to see myself and others as you see us. Amen.
Go
Before you go from this place, take a deep breath.
Open your heart to the possibilities that come from change.
Have no fear.
Rest in the assurance that God is with you, wherever the way may lead you.
