Prayer: This day, I pray for those who are different than me. I pray that can be open to accepting those who have different views and opinions. Open my heart, Lord. Amen. Reading: Galatians 3: 26-29 (Click to read text) Stop and GROW: After reading the text, discuss/ponder the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which are part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers. QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, challenges, or doesn’t make sense to me in this text? QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text or is my favorite part of the story? QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? MORE QUESTIONS:
Reflection: Reunions. Author Robert Fulghum says they are a ritual of life. He also says they take us back to a long time gone, affirming our relationships. I’ve had many reunions in my lifetime, but one stands out, which happened over 20 years ago. It was a reunion of my own “Breakfast Club.” In the movie of the same name, high school seniors, who are very different from one another, spend a Saturday in all-day detention. They form a bond that is surprising to each of them, due to the fact that they have differing backgrounds and experiences. I got to experience something like that one summer. Six people, of different personalities and backgrounds, became very close to one another through being together and complaining together. When I think of that summer, I think of those people working, laughing, and talking together. We spent a lot of time together, mainly because we were unhappy with some of the things we saw going on around us. We would get together on a daily basis to talk about the problems we saw with our co-workers. By being tolerant and supportive of one another, we grew as people. The members of my "Breakfast Club" were truly a blessing in my life that summer and each of them embodied all that a Christian should. A few years after we spent the summer together, we gathered at a local restaurant to reconnect. We were missing one of our members, but we had added to the club a fiancé, a husband, and a child. As with many of my close friendships, we picked up where we had left off. We talked about current events, our ever-changing lives, and even a future wedding that was being planned. It was good to get together. We said, “We should do this more often,” but I don’t think we’ve all been in the same place since. As we went our separate ways, though, I was reminded that we need to break down barriers that separate us. We need to look for commonalities in one another and be open to listening to other’s viewpoints. This group of friends proved to me that in God's sight, we are all equal. It doesn't matter what race, personality, or nationality we are. We are all precious in God's eyes. --Chad Hershberger
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