We’re in the season of first days. School is starting for students, faculty, staff and parents.
It got me thinking about the first days I’ve had in my life.
I remember the first day of first grade; it was 1968. I came home and told my parents who my teacher was; it was Mrs. Blevins. My dad was so surprised, “Mrs. Blevins was my first grade teacher, too!” I remember thinking, “She must be really old.” She was younger then than I am now.
I remember my first day of college. I didn’t know what to expect; I was the first in my family to go to college. I was relieved to find that it wasn’t going to overwhelm me; “I’m gonna be able to handle this,” I thought.
When our oldest child, Tres, began first grade in 1995, I remember driving him to school, walking him in and meeting his teacher, Mrs. Johnson; she turned out to be an amazing first grade teacher.
Our second child, Nate, began kindergarten with some apprehension. But the man-kiss set him at ease. The man-kiss is the handshake I had with my sons. You just clap your hands, kiss your palm and do a high five. The look that our man-kiss brought to his face set me at ease that morning, too, allowing me to leave him there with peace in my heart.
Kristin, our next child and first girl, went full speed, fully excited into her first school day. That’s her way; still today Kwi embraces new things easily.
When Jacob, our fourth child, went off to college, my wife, Sharlene, also drove up to help get him settled in; she has this thing about not using shower curtains for bedspreads. And everything having a right place, or something like that.
Well, Sharlene took our two youngest with her, so I found myself for three days in a situation I hadn’t been in for nearly twenty years: alone. Tears came to my face much of the weekend.
Luke and Janna, our two youngest went to big city colleges – one in NY and the other in Boston – making sure they flew far from the nest. I’m not sure how their first days went, but they were surprisingly tough for me, considering I’d had four and five practices to supposedly become better at it.
I had a really tough first day on a job I took a while back. That night, my boss called to tell me the company wanted me to step down. He explained that they were brokering a shady deal, and my being there would mess that up. I was humiliated. Toughest first day ever for me. After a fitful two hours of sleep, I got up, went into the den and knelt, using the sofa as an altar. Desperate and utterly humiliated, I cried out to God and cried literal tears before the Lord; I really needed a job.
I rose, got my laptop and drafted an email to the company. After finishing the email, I was just about to click Send when my phone vibrated. It was my boss. The shady part of the deal had fallen through, and they wanted me to come back. Even though I had very little respect for this company, I needed a paycheck, plus I knew the company was being sold and the buyer had to be a better company than the seller was, so I went back. The buyer was a much better company, and I still work for them. But, boy, what a first day that was!
The best day of my life was October 12, 1983. It was my first day as a Christian. God had revealed Himself to me the day before, rescuing me from a demonic attack. Seeing how powerful He was and His willingness to use His power for me, I committed my life to Jesus. The sense of peace and joyful bliss was astonishing to me, and He has never left me and never will.
I long to see more people experience their first day as Christians. In the season of first days, what a wonderful time to experience the first day of salvation in Christ Jesus!
Today is the day of salvation – 2 Corinthians 6:2
