Starting Something New

This is a big week in the Margeson house. Gemma is starting 2nd grade, and Ellie is starting Kindergarten. 🥹 Watching them grow up is a beautiful thing, and I couldn't be more proud of both of them.

I'm proud of them because they're starting something new with courage and grace. A new school year is something almost all of us experience, but for them, it's completely new. That means excitement, nervousness, anticipation, uncertainty—and just about every emotion in between.

In a way, school is its own kind of sacrifice. They give up carefree summer mornings and endless hours of play in order to learn, grow, and become who God is shaping them to be. Some days that sacrifice feels bigger than others. But those of us who've walked that road know it's worth it. Education is a gift, and growth almost always asks something of us.

That's one of the themes we've been exploring at KUMC in our worship series, Start Something. This past Sunday, Jay Helms wrapped up the series by talking about the journey from "Yay!" to "Ugh!"—that moment when the excitement of something new gives way to the reality that meaningful things take work. (If you missed it, go back and give it a listen!)

Jay also encouraged us to read Love Does by Bob Goff, and one passage has stayed with me this week as I've watched my girls begin another school year:

"We're all giving up something at one time or another. At first, it always feels like a huge sacrifice to give up what we've got. To Jesus, though, it's no sacrifice at all... He's asking us to play Bigger and Better, where we give up ourselves and end up with Him."

Whether you're sending a child to school, beginning a new job, serving in a new ministry, or simply taking the next faithful step God is placing before you, remember that growth usually asks us to leave something behind. But in God's hands, what feels like sacrifice often becomes the doorway to something far greater.

May we have the courage to start something, trust God through the "ugh" moments, and discover the joy waiting on the other side.

From my heart,

Rev. Steph Margeson