Have a Great Day at School

I go for a walk around 6:30 every morning as I start my day.  Obviously, getting exercise is one reason for my walk.  Yet, my walk also provides me a time for me to pray.  Some mornings I'm done praying by the time I get to the end of the street on which I live.  Other times I'm still praying when I get back to my house.  It all depends on what is on my heart and on my mind that day.There are days when I preach on my walk.  No, I'm not a street preacher but I do go over my upcoming sermons in my mind as a take my walk.  

Now that schools have resumed their normal schedules following their summer break, I've noticed that there is a more routine traffic pattern on my walk.

There is a young man on our street who attends Athens Academy.  Each morning he stands at the end of his drive way waiting on the Athens Academy bus.  As I finish my walk the bus is usually turning  down my street. The bus turns around in the cul de sac in front of my house and drives back up the street to pick up the young man. 

I always greet the young man with a "good morning" and he usually mumbles "good morning" in return.  At least I think that's what he says, he may be saying "Don't talk to me old man, it's early, I don't want to go to school today and I don't want to be bothered," because as I said he is mumbling.

A couple of mornings ago I decided to expand our conversation.  I said, "Good morning! Have a great day at school!"  The young man responded, "You too!"  Then we both began laughing as we both understood that I am well past the age to have a great day at school.

Yet, as I thought about our brief exchange, I realized the young man was more right than he was wrong.  While I am past the point in life that would find me sitting in a school classroom, I am not through learning.   I go to school because every day I try to learn something that I didn't know at the start of the day.

Usually I am fairly successful.  Perhaps, I learn a new word.  Maybe I learn some obscure fact. There are times I discover something I had not previously noticed in a biblical passage as I do some Bible study.  Sometimes what I learn is more abstract as I ponder a new idea.

In the movie "Teachers," Nick Nolte plays a rather cynical high school history instructor.  One day he begins his class by pulling out his tool box and telling his class that today's lecture is going to be on radiator repair.  The problem of course is this takes place in a history class.  One of his students asks about reviewing homework questions instead of repairing the radiator and Nolte's response is, "Learning is limitless."

Indeed, learning is limitless.  There is always something more for us to learn.  The Apostle Paul understood this concept well as he wrote to the Romans, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, (emphasis mine) so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2 NRSV)

Paul is relating to us that God's way is for us to keep learning, to realize that we never know it all, for it is in the renewing of our mind that we discover the will of God.  

Many of us may remember a man named Dan Quayle who was Vice-President of our country.  Unfortunately for Mr. Quayle, he was not the most eloquent public speaker.  One day he was giving a speech to supporters of the United Negro College Fund which has as its slogan "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste."  

In given his speech Quayle was attempting to quote their slogan when instead of saying, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste," he said, "It is a terrible waste to lose one's mind."  

I believe Quayle quite accidently told us something quite important.  Though we often speak of "losing one's mind" as a sign of a psychotic breakdown or as the result of some debilitating disease we can also "lose our mind" by letting our minds stagnate.

When we believe we know it all and never avail ourselves of the opportunity that each day brings to learn something new we can also "lose our minds."  In doing so we can neglect the God given gift we have in our intellect.  

The truth is we must never stop learning.  We must always  seek to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

So it is that I hope you a great day at school today.

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