“Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me’” (John 13:8, NRSV).

     Recently, a group of divers were exploring Catalina Island off the coast of California when a giant sea bass swam past them. They noticed the giant sea bass had a smaller fish protruding from its mouth. Kayla Feairheller, the president of Blue World said, “It was moving closer to me…..It would actually move the fish tail up to my hand as if it wanted me to pull it.”

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34, NIV).

              I am a planner. My eyes are frequently focused on what lies ahead. Most of the time, this manner of living brings me a sense of control and peace. But there are also instances where my penchant for getting my flight plan in order produces butterflies in my stomach.

“When Pharaoh heard what Moses had done, he tried to have him killed. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian” (Exodus 2:15, GWT).

“So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name” (Genesis 2:19, NRSV).

“Train children in the way they should go; when they grow old, they won’t depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6, CEB).
 
     I spoke with a parent yesterday who minutes earlier left the kindergarten classroom after dropping her daughter off to school for the first time. Her tears reflected both the pain and pride she felt as her child took this major step toward independence. The emotionally charged transition denotes a season of hope combined with a deep sense of loss.