Today marks a new season in my family's life. It is today that I see my youngest son pass from Primary School education into Secondary School, and my wife finish her job as a pre-school teacher to something completely different altogether. Two big changes that have permanent ramifications for us as an entire family. For sure, both changes are positive ones, and will produce lasting fruit for us all in the Beecham household, but they are dramatic changes nevertheless.

For my son, he is making the change from being a young child into the beginnings of a young man. He will take on more responsibility and over the course of the next 5 years will see him change further from who he is to becoming a responsible adult, making decisions that will affect the course of his life. For my wife, she has dedicated the last 7 years of her life to helping nurture and shape the lives of the very small children in her care, preparing them for the first stages of a school education. Over the years she has loved, played with, taught and disciplined youngsters in a way very reminiscent of how God the father loves his children.

With all the visual changes around me today, I have begun thinking about how we transition from stage to stage in our Christian walk with God. Today reminds me of how we start as very small children in the faith...really knowing nothing more than the fact that we have been saved by a saviour who loves us, and start to grow in Him and 'learn' the faith (so to speak!). The analogy of milk is used often in the bible to give the picture of children 'young' in the faith. This milk is comprised of very basic teaching, really just dealing with the foundational truths of the faith. We learn about Jesus, what was accomplished on the cross, why Jesus chose to die, doctrines of the Trinity, etc.

We dont really expect to either desire or get past these foundational levels just yet. But given time, encouragement, and an openness to the grace of God in our lives, we start to desire a digging deeper into the mysteries of God and his word. We begin to long for truth and relationship. We go from a basic knowledge of God to a more intimate relationship with him. In essence, we start to move from 'Primary Education' to 'Secondary (or comprehensive) Education' when it comes to the things of God. Absolutely, we should long for a deeper desire to press on and move forward...but not out of its right season. Everyone would agree that it's pointless to take a child in primary education, and drop him straight into secondary education...he simply wouldn't be ready for it and would understandbly feel out of his depth. No, he continues the education that is relevant to him at his age and, at the right time, moves forward into a new season.

So it is with us.

Zechariah 4:10 talks about not despising the 'Day of Small Beginnings'. We all start somewhere with God, but God takes those small beginnings and, over time, turns them into something quite glorious. Over that time there will be many transitions...some pleasant and some painful, but no transition is without purpose. God WILL have his way through them in order to bring Glory to himself. We should not yearn to move past the season that we are in but rather, in the same way Samuel did in 1 Samuel 3:10 say "speak Lord, for your servant listens".

Today is both a reminder and an encouragement to me to remember that God takes us into a season, then transitions us out of those into new seasons of our lives. We should not despise those seasons, but seek to know what the purpose of the season is for each of us. It's an encouragement and a challenge to me, and I pray that you will be encouraged and challenged too!