Devotions - Thursday, March 13

I have been involved in an ongoing, on-line discussion with a woman I have never met. She wrote me, as "one last attempt," to reconcile the teachings she remembers from her childhood with the thoughts she has as a young adult. She has not, to date, been able to bring these into harmony.

The things we discover, as we leave our childhood and enter adulthood, challenge the assumptions of our youth. When exposed to a wider, more complicated world, we are forced to re-orient our thinking and re-construct our view of the world. This is a considerable work. It sometimes involves setting aside the things associated with childhood and our family of origin.

Tomorrow is the beginning of spring break for us on the Clemson campus. Many if not most of you will be heading home, at least for a few days. Since spring break co-insides with Easter, you will likely find yourself in the church where you spent your childhood. You will likely find yourself comparing that church to your experience here, in this college town. You might think that the two places are completely different. I want to suggest to you that they are not - it is you who is different.

If you had been a young adult, as opposed to a child, that church would have spoken to you differently about God. Had you the cognitive skills you currently possess, their manner of instruction would have been different. It isn't that the campus ministries have a different look on things, it is our meeting you were you are, now.

This break falls at a busy time for your pastor. There are Holy Week serves to prepare and lead. But I want to encourage you to brighten their week by asking for an hour to sit and talk. You don't need to have a "problem" and you certainly don't need to expect some earth-shattering discovery. It would be a gift, to your pastor, to sit over a cup of coffee (or glass of coke) and just talk about what is happening in your life and where you are in your attempts to live into the lessons of your childhood. "I just want to let you see me for the adult I am becoming and the child of God I understand myself to be," could be your opening comment.

I will pray for you over Break, and ask that you pray for me. Have a relaxing time. Be careful. Celebrate the Resurrection. And come back ready to close out the year and move on to other adventures.

Note - I will be away for two weeks - leading a group of students and UniLu members on a trip to Germany. I will return to regular writings on April 1.

Pastor Chris