From School Doors to Lifelong Journeys: Embracing the Everlasting Classroom

School begins this week. Can you remember your first day?

For me, school started after Labor Day, the first Tuesday of September 1961. My mother took me to stand at the north door of Salazar Elementary in Santa Fe, NM.

The clothes were new, as was the experience. New white tennis shoes from Penney’s, jeans (still intact without rips in the knees), and a new shirt.

Inside, Mrs. Gardner, a woman with a kind smile, awaited. I took a seat in this magical world called school.

It started a process that seemed to end as I crossed the stage years later to receive a graduate degree.

The environment changed. The classroom faded, replaced by conversations over coffee and experiences. I faced setbacks and met new insights as new technologies arose. Life’s classroom replaced the formal classroom.

People taught me. Mrs. Freshley, in third grade, taught me to pay attention to the events of the world. Mrs. Moroni showed me how to write with a paper cup with a beer-soaked cotton ball. Dr. John Willis took me to Israel and Jerusalem, opening up the world of the Old Testament prophets.

Formal education was behind me, but learning was the road ahead. I moved on from “What’s the answer?” to “What’s the right question?” (The latter escapes me often!)

Paul impresses me. In 2 Timothy, he knows that time in life grows short. Life’s ending shadow spreads, and with it, the shaft of eternity’s light enters his eyes.

But even as he is saying farewell, he wants more. He tells his young friend Timothy:

“When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.” (2 Timothy 4:13)

So much still to learn, to consider, to engage with. He never gave up learning, even as he graduated from life.

This week, my four grandkids will head back to classrooms. Most groan that summer is over. But learning isn’t.

I no longer line up in front of a school door. But I keep learning from books, from people, and from experience.

Woe be the person who can’t find something to learn, for he is gone.

So, are you ready for school?