For Beginners

That is the title of a song by M. Ward, who Stephen just recently introduced me to. It’s a really great song, and the words and the title makes me think of this week, actually. This past week was Beach Camp week. Beach Camp is the week long retreat that the youth group at First Baptist Gaffney takes every summer to Garden City Chapel. The week of my birthday, every year. 8 years ago, going into the 10th grade, my best friend Laura talked my Mom into making me go to beach camp (Mom payed for me without me knowing. Thanks Mom!) and I walked right up in there with my King James Bible in hand, not having a clue what I was about to get into. I came back knowing and loving Jesus and wanting more of all that that week had to offer me. It sounds cheesy I know, but when something like that changes you the way it did me, those certain places and people just stick with you. Through several beach camps through the high school and college years, I learned how to worship, how to have alone time with God, and what fellowship looked like. The coolest thing about this story to me is that I remember clearly what it was like to not belong to Jesus. That version of me sucked and I never want it back. When I think back to that particular summer, I think about how different I was when I came back. I acted differently, I talked differently, I played sports differently, I treated people differently. I liked being a beginner. Someone who had just been transformed eternally.

Jason Mraz has a tattoo on his arm with the word “beginner” that he got when he started surfing. He noticed in surfing how beginners have more fun because they can never tell whether or not the waves are good or bad that day. He says beginners love regardless of condition. Beginners are humble and just enjoy being wet. They love UNCONDITIONALLY. And all that’s just cool. Every year during this time, still, I think about how the Lord saved me. I think about what that felt like initially because I remember it so well. Everything was so new and different and I wanted to share that with anyone who was breathing the same air as me. What all this means for me 8 years later is that I want to always have that beginner attitude. For my relationship with Jesus to be about learning MORE. Learning more of the Bible, more of how Jesus acted and thought and taught others. hmmm.