First day
Earlier this week, just after rushing to take photos of my kids on their first day of school, I walked through our neighborhood seeing other families doing the same thing. Kids stood on front porches or on the school’s front lawn with big smiles, nervous grins, or a barely perceptible eyeroll. These photos mark a moment. The back-to-school photo provides an opportunity to stop and notice where we’ve been before jumping into what’s next.
As we take those photos, we celebrate how much the kids have changed, the inches and wisdom that have accumulated since the last time they stood on that front stoop. But it also gives us space to grieve. For some, the sadness comes in the change of what was, as our kids grow up too quickly. But for others, the grief is deeper. These fall days remind some of dreams that are unfulfilled or of scars visible and invisible that our kids bear from all sorts of hurt. The shock of flash highlights people missing in our lives.
Whether or not our days are ruled by a school calendar, there’s something important about taking moments to pause. In the constant rush of our lives, we don’t often give ourselves a chance to just notice how much we’ve grown or what we’ve lost. Whether an intentional avoidance or simply an endless fast pace, we don’t take time to reflect, to acknowledge just where and how and who we are. And if we don’t notice, it’s hard to heal, grow, or live with gratitude.
Not all of us have brand new notebooks or front porch pictures, but we do have Sundays. God has given us a day, the Sabbath, to stop. It’s not just a day to rest, but a day to notice. In worship, we reorient back to God. Looking back, we see how God showed up for us to give us blessing and help us endure. We turn forward with hope and courage. Through God’s forgiveness, we’re given a brand-new start, a blank notebook with no mistakes in it. Sunday gives us a fresh beginning to live another week in ways of integrity and love.
In Luke’s gospel, we read about that first Easter day. “Early in the morning, on the first day of the week, the women went to the tomb.” The first day of the week. Sunday. It’s our first day. A day not just for rest, but to reflect on all the ways we’ve grown and on all we’ve learned. We stop to thank God for the new life we experienced, and trust will come.
This Sunday, maybe you can take a picture on your stoop. “Sunday! The First Day of this Week!”
-Sara Olson-Smith, associate pastor
Patty Herzberg
My kids are grown, out of college, and I still have “first day of school” excitement. I was thrilled to find an extra “Jesus ❤️ you” bracelet to send my DIL for her first day of teaching third grade in a new school district. Everyone deserves a little encouragement!