I have come to appreciate the sounds of church bells and the Islamic calls to prayer. Each invites me to look up at the steeple or minaret. When I do, I also find myself looking beyond. It is the wisp of a cloud that caught my attention as I reflected on the silhouette minaret in the mid-afternoon sky. I was aware of how much different institutions have taught me while each seemingly bounded by tradition and the frailties of those who lead.
With a new dawn, the lingering lessons of the afternoon are still with me.
Learn as much as you can when you can. In every day, there will be an opportunity to learn. Lessons from the past, examples in the present, and ideas looking for someone to care are all around us. The value that is here will remain unrealised until someone, you, me, or someone who is seeking, takes it into their mind and heart and does something with it. I often squander my lesson opportunities. As today begins, the mantra of seize the day echoes loud and clear. Learn anywhere and everywhere one can.
Wrestle with what one is learning. Have a critical eye. Look to see where the learning could be applied. Test it out and examine the results. It is not always easy to know what one needs to learn at any given moment in time. Until one embraces the opportunity and wrestles with what one finds, one will never have the option to embrace and grow. I like to remind myself, be intentional with both steps.
Do something with the lessons that are embraced. Use a call to worship and a call to prayer as triggers for a conversation with Divinity. As I looked at the minaret, reflecting on the lessons I was hearing, the wisp of a cloud echoed old words; “God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!” (Romans 8.14)
Every journey is unique. The calls I hear are open to all. Each is a personal invitation to hear, embrace, and step forward.
