We're meant to grow throughout life

Did you know some churches are color coordinated? We use colors to visually represent the purpose of a church season: blue is for Advent hope, purple is Lenten repentance, white is Christmas and Easter joy.

The longest season is the one we’re in now, from June to October, and it’s green. Our banners are green, our altar cloths are green, sometimes even our bulletins are green! Green represents growth, and we’re meant to use these green, growing days to practice the lessons we learn from God, to grow a little for our own sake and the sake of our neighbors.

Growing sounds great, but the truth is that it’s hard. There’s a reason we speak of ‘growing pains’ — growing is usually an uncomfortable experience.

Kids know this all too well. As they grow up, they are expected to take on more responsibility, to behave in increasingly socially accepted ways, to act their age.

They spend a whole year at school, getting used to the teacher and the schedule, learning new ideas, being challenged by harder books, more complicated math skills, lessons that they aren’t always excited to learn. They form friendships which might grow stronger, or they may grow apart. They wrestle their way through, but they are not done. A new year starts, and they have to do it all over again.

The lessons of the school year guide us into life. We aren’t meant to get comfortable, or we’d stay with our favorite fourth-grade teacher forever! We are meant to change, to develop, to improve, to expand, even as we continue to build on what has come before.

We are meant to try new things, meet new people, to explore new things. We’re meant to find different, bigger, better ways to help, to share, to listen, to care. To meet and connect and play with new people. To do a little more each year, like a plant pushing out new leaves.

You don’t have to be a part of a colorful church to grow, but finding opportunities to grow is good for you and your community.

What can you do to grow, even if it takes you a little bit out of your comfort zone? What can you try for the first time, or spend some more time learning? Who needs a little bit of your time, your help, your wallet? The more you grow, you’ll discover it may not always be comfortable, but it can be interesting, and exciting, and worthwhile.