Back to School 
Pause
“There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born till the moment you die, is a process of learning.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti
I just read about a 90-year-old Kenyan woman who is proof that education has no age limit. Priscilla, a midwife, is going to primary school for the first time so she can learn to read and write. Because she grew up in an occupied country and lived through Kenya’s struggle for independence, she never received an education. She wears a school uniform and sits on the front row of her class. Priscilla says, “Education is your wealth.”
Listen
When I was a son to my father, tender and my mother’s favorite, he taught me and said to me: "Let your heart hold on to my words: Keep my commands and live. Get wisdom; get understanding. Don’t forget and don’t turn away from my words."
Proverbs 4:3-5
Think
I recently went to brunch with two of my favorite people. Both have multiple graduate degrees and work hard to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. I don’t see them often because they are both “a big deal” in Baptist life and are rarely in town. So it was a treat to see them.
Conversation around the table was lively, challenging, and sometimes heated. We talked about race relations, denominational differences, our own spiritual journeys, and the church’s role in eradicating poverty. As we parted, my mind was reeling with ideas. I was excited to explore my response to their thoughts and convictions. I ended up with a fresh perspective on God’s redemptive work in the world through the church.
Is this what Solomon means when he says “get wisdom; get understanding”? Maybe one way we “hold on” to God’s words and get wisdom and understanding is by engaging one another over delicious food and lively conversation about faith. I think that is LIVING!
Ann Whitfield Carter
Pray
God, place people in my life who know more than I do; who can challenge what I think and believe; who send me home digging into Scripture for answers. May I never know it all and may I always be eager to learn. Amen.
Go
Go out into your day to be a learner
Open your eyes and your ears
Open your mind and your heart
Open your hands
To God’s amazing world
To God’s amazing people
Be surprised by what you discover
And never stop learning
