Traveling Thoughts

Have you ever felt lost in the crowd? For someone who loves concerts, there is always this heightened sense of anxiety for me being in a large group. I constantly catch myself looking around to make sure the people I came with are by my side, I avoid bumping into strangers, and I leave early so I'm not in this rush of people. I've found that being in large churches can feel the same way. Most of my experiences of church is from the lens of the large church context. Before I got connected with any ministry areas when I first started going to church, I found myself lost in this sea of people coming and going. I could easily slip in and out of service without people noticing and I could even miss worship and no one would think twice about it. Reflecting back, I realize that I treated church like a crowded concert that I loved going to, but rarely interacted with others and take advantage of any chance to leave early. It wasn't until I got connected to a small group

Reflecting back on this past week, I realized that I missed sharing a significant milestone in my life...my last first day of school! I almost felt the need to pinch myself after finishing my first week of classes to make sure it was real life that I am in the final lap of my "formal" education. I figured now would be as good a time as any to share my "educational journey" and first day of school traditions with Faith Community and find out your traditions.    Even if I wanted to, I don't think it would be possible for me to forget my first day of school each year. I would like to say it was because there was just this excitement in the air about what new possibilities and opportunities for learning that came with a new school year, but really it was because my mom made such a fuss. She had this school bus flag that she would hang up each year that would act as our photo shoot backdrop. Each year, my brother and I had to hold up fingers which showed what