I vividly remember a moment of my first full day of school. The school I was attending was vastly different from the one I attended my Kindergarten year. Buses ran different routes, kid’s faces were frightening, and the playground was large and lonely. I scaled the tallest play apparatus I could find, and planned to ride out the storm of my first day of school alone and scared. Suddenly, I saw a pair of blue eyes peering at me over the floor of the platform as their owner climbed to the top. Steve sat next to me and inquired how I was doing. He knew perfectly well. I told him of my fear and uncertainty, and he reassured me it would be OK. His first-grader wisdom was just what I needed to get past my first day. (Pause for Thought: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him’.”—Genesis 2:15&18. What “first days” do you remember in your life (school, sports, jobs, etc.)? Whom did God place in your life at that time to be a “suitable helper”?)
Steve and I would continue to cross paths throughout our elementary school years, and our relationship to one another really peaked during our middle school years. Steve was gregarious, enthusiastic and fearless about everything. I was completely the opposite. I relied heavily on my relationship with Christ to “get by”. Steve noticed that my love of Jesus was everything to me, and he wanted to pursue my passion with his passions. He wanted to join the church and youth group I attended. His parents weren’t certain this would be a good idea. After meeting my church family (which included my mom and dad) and allowing me to be their guide for their first day, Steve’s mom, dad, and middle brother began attending church along with Steve. Steve’s entire family, including his oldest brother, would eventually surrender their lives to the Lord. (Pause for Thought: “Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit’.”—Acts 9:17. Can you imagine Paul’s (Saul) first day as a follower of Christ? How difficult would it have been for Paul to go from his anti-Christ attitude to an ambassador of Jesus without Ananias? How have you struggled and who have you seen struggling with their “first days”?)
I vividly remember my first day of driver’s education. Steve and his family moved to South Carolina two-years prior to my summer driving course. A mutual friend of Steve’s and mine asked if I had heard the news. Steve was killed in a motorcycle accident a week before. I cried. Many years after Steve’s ascension, my church held a reunion, and Steve’s mom and dad travelled to Chelsea, Michigan to celebrate the church’s tenure. When I saw them, we didn’t know what to say to each other. The Spirit gave me the words to express how glad I was Steve found me my first day of school, and how it is only fitting Steve would find me to show me around on my first day in Heaven. (Pause for Thought: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified”—Romans 8:28-30. What “first days” are heading your way? How is God calling you to help another in their “first day”?)
