Fr Robert Hendrickson

Dear Friends,

This morning Karrie and I are taking Nikolas to camp this morning. It’s his first time away apart from visits with relatives, so he’s a bit nervous! But he’s also excited too, of course. There’s a mix of “I’m big enough” and “I’m not ready yet” in most of his days and he’s at that age where you have a mix of firsts and lasts.

He’s excited about the new things, nervous about first times, and also showing a bit of the inevitable desire to not quite be big enough yet. He still wants toys when he’s getting more books. He wants both to roughhouse but also not to get caught wanting to too much.

I suppose, as I’m watching both boys grow up, it reminds me a bit of growing in Christian faith too. Except many of us will forget those early times when it was all new. We forget the wonder of it once we think we’ve hears it all. We forget there is a world of new experience to be found in Scripture and Bread. We get bored with the same old prayers and the same old hymns. 

Rediscovering that joy of new experiences is not just for kids — it’s the thing that keeps us all feeling that sense of possibility. The challenge, for us, is to keep returning to what was once familiar to discover it again. This is the great thing about camp, for kids. They come back to a familiar place for new experiences, deeper relationships, and a chance to explore.

The wonderful opportunity with faith is that we’re always given a chance to come back to a familiar place to rediscover it. We deepen relationships, find a truer sense of who we are, and take the time to wonder at the vastness of the stars and our place amongst them. We get the spiritual chance to look up and see those many, many points of light that the brightness of the world blinds us to.

May we continue returning here again and again to rediscover the wonder of God and find a deeper and deeper communion with one another and with Christ. May we still seek new experiences and be open to all that God has laid out for us as we journey in this familiar place.

Yours in Christ,

Fr Robert