Kindergarten and the Spirit

August 17th is a day I will always remember. At 12:40 Tracy and I drove Sophia to her first day of Kindergarten. We took a picture at home, walking down the hall of the school, next to a directional sign pointing the way for the “KinderDAWGS” to go, and two more when she was in her classroom. We watched from a distance outside the room while she started to look at her new classmates and listened to her new teacher, Mrs. Smith. Then with a couple of goodbye waves, another minute of watching, and a final wave, we left our daughter and went home.

Going to kindergarten isn’t really that remarkable of a feat. Almost every five or six year old does it. But even knowing that in and of itself this is not an extraordinary accomplishment I still felt like an incredibly proud parent for my daughter to now be in kindergarten. Thinking about it some more, I think the pride comes not so much from seeing her there in the classroom but in seeing her grow from birth until this day. That day was the culmination of five years of growth, change, development, and learning. Tracy and I were not rigorous about having a growth plan for Sophia in the first five years of her life to prepare her for kindergarten, but we were intentional about reading to her when she wanted to be read to and showing her how to do math in everyday situations. We tried to help her know the sound that each letter makes. In short, we wanted her to be ready to take the next step in her development by sending her off to kindergarten. After all, our intellect is always growing isn’t it? Our knowledge is always increasing.

I wonder if what is true for our intellectual development is the same for our spiritual development? I wonder if we read the Bible with our children sometimes when they want to read. I wonder if we help them learn to pray in everyday situations just like we help them learn math. I wonder if help our children become ready for the next step in their spiritual development, whatever that step might be. I also wonder if we prepare ourselves. Do you know what the next step is for your spiritual life? Are you ready to take it?