Look For The New In Each Day… Hello Hump Day readers. Here is a question for us all: “Do you look for something new each day?” For most of us, we probably don’t. A pastor friend of mine (she’s amazing) asked me if I look for something new each day. I looked at her and said “what?” She laughed and said it again and then it just hit me—how much have I lost each day? How much learning have I lost—and so much more.

Many years ago Al and I worked with our youth at our church—12 years! We loved it and to this day we still get letters, emails, etc. from many of them. One thing that always bugged us was how the kids would reply to a question we asked, such as how was your summer, or how was your vacation, or what did you learn today, etc. The feedback was pretty much nothing! They would say ‘nothing goin on’ or ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I don’t remember’—typical teenagers, that’s all we could say! After all, in our teenage life we would have said the same thing!

Some people enjoy journaling. I don’t do that much but I do like to learn things no matter where I am. Al and I love camping, hiking in the mountains, etc. That’s when I get out my camera so we can enjoy pictures of where we’ve been. We also find it a time to learn, and we have our maps, birding and geology books and so much more. In New Mexico we have 64 pueblos and we learn so much from these wonderful Indigenous people.

So here is that question again: “Why do we not look each day for something new?” Probably because we are busy with something else. Or that old saying when we get older: “We’re getting old and we have too many memory lapses (who doesn’t!”) However, our memory lapses, there is factual research that has shown our brains have a greater capacity for memory than any device we’ve invented so far-wow! Some experts define learning as the “voluntary and self-motivated search for knowledge,” which means that we intentionally and continually seek to learn new things for our own benefit yet not thinking why we do it!

So what’s the problem about looking for something new each day? Our attitudes! Just like our youth kids at church, their attitude often was a ‘no-brainer’! Attitudes can stifle our learning. If we think we can’t learn anything else, we won’t try or pay attention to ways we can learn. On the other hand, looking for the new in each day can give us a reason to look forward to tomorrow. God has given us the ability to learn and provided us with an unlimited amount of information to acquire. Why? So we would find a new thing to learn each day!

In Proverbs 1:1-7 [ERV] we learn from Solomon: “These are the proverbs of Solomon, the son of David and king of Israel. They will help you learn to be wise, to accept correction and to understand wise sayings. They will teach you to develop your mind in the right way. You will learn to do what is right and to be honest and fair. These proverbs will make even those without education smart. They will teach young people what they need to know and how to use what they have learned. Even the wise could become wiser by listening to these proverbs. They will gain understanding and learn to solve difficult problems. These sayings will help you understand proverbs, stories with hidden meanings, words of the wise, and other difficult sayings. Knowledge begins with fear and respect for the Lord, but stubborn fools hate wisdom and refuse to learn.”

Let’s thank the Lord for giving us this wonderful world to discover and the ability to learn. May we share it with others that they can also have the joy of knowing that God provides for our learning and for our souls.