Recently, as I was sharing my story with the Interns, I reflected a lot about the summer before my senior year in high school and the year that followed. It was at that time that I began to pursue an active relationship with Christ and seek to follow Him fully in my life. That was truly an amazing time in my life in which I experienced a lot of growth as an individual as I allowed God to lead me. I read the Bible daily, memorized scripture (60 in all), and prayed. I invited my friends to church. And I got really involved in a small group of guys who pushed and challenged me further.

Fast forwards decades later. God is still leading me and I am challenged and pushed by Him in a lot of ways. But, if I am being honest, some of the things I did that senior year in high school, I haven’t done in some time. For instance, I can’t remember the last time I memorized a Bible verse.

And then over Memorial Day weekend, when I was out with my girls for a weekend softball trip, one of the girls was playing “For the 1st in Forever” and it made me think about my past. It caused me to think, “What’s sometime that I haven’t done in forever?” In particular, what is something that I haven’t done in quite some time in my relationship with Christ that I can/should do now?

I’m not even talking about taking a next step in faith. I am talking about something I did as a new follower of Christ that I stopped doing at one point or another. What is that something that I can do “for the 1st time in forever”?

As I processed this question, I thought it would be a good question to ask everyone else. What’s something you haven’t “done in forever” that you need to do again? What did you do as a new believer that you were excited about that you haven’t done in forever? Can you go back to the basics of your initial faith and make some changes that will inspire you and challenge you to grow stronger in your faith?

What is that 1st time in forever thing you can do today? I am willing to bet that as we all look back and remember those times, we can redevelop spiritual disciplines that help us grow in our faith and inspire others as well.

– Tom