I have a confession to make. I am a slow learner. 

School for so many years was very difficult for me. Most of the time I did not comprehend what was being taught but I was able to copy methods, follow steps, and arrive at the right answer. Why those steps? Why was the answer right? I had not a clue. I was never really ever able to answer why.  

When I first became a Christian I quickly realized I needed to learn a new language, Christianese. Every time I was around seasoned believers they would use terms I just did not understand or recognize. You can also see this happen in any industry. Everyone who is well acquainted with the topic will speak in acronyms or jargon specific to this industry without realizing what they are saying only makes sense to those who are well versed as well to the topic. In turn, their words sort of fall on deaf ears when the person is new and trying to learn. Most of what they share is missed because it is simply too much for the new person to grasp. Well, this was brought to my remembrance and there is one "Christian" concept in the word I think is critical to our walks and is worthy of a pause to explain and experience. It is the concept of letting God wash you with the water of His word. 

I am not much of a shopper, but one thing I did learn young was to judge a mall by its anchor stores. The quality of the anchor stores would give me insight to the quality of goods being sold and the type of experience I would have as a shopper. If I was on a hunt for a bargain, I would not go to malls which anchored themselves with Macy’s and Nieman Marcus, high-end retail stores. Since I am not a sailor that is about as much experience I have with anchors, but like anchors of a boat, which hold a boat in place to meet the sailors needs, these stores kept the mall in place to meet the shoppers needs. This concept of being “anchored”, settled, and unmoving in our faith can be found all throughout scripture, such as in the book of Hebrews.   

Ever realize in the middle of a conversation with someone your mind begins to wander? You begin to engage with the wandering thought to the point you no longer are listening to the person speaking to you, the show you are watching, or what is playing on the radio. You may be looking in their direction and even in their presence, but you have completely left the conversation. Then suddenly you notice and you zoom right back into the conversation and you try your best to gather the context in order to be able to respond. Well, let me tell you this happens to me often. Especially, when I have so much happening, I notice my mind begins to wander. As I am sitting in meetings or talking to my family, and they say just one word and then there my mind goes. Oh, our Lord knows how well He fashioned us so He purposely and intentionally speaks of our minds over 100 times in the bible!

Many times when we are exposed to new things we often try to compare it or liken it to something familiar. When I first started playing water polo there were many times I had to have teammates explain the rules to me using basketball terms and methodologies, since that was familiar to me. However, there are many things about water polo that are only applicable to that particular sport. So slowly I had to make the unfamiliar familiar and stop leaning on my basketball experience. Too often we want to do the same with God. We want to understand His ways and His thoughts and so we humanize Him too much. Jesus was God in man form, but God the Father is still holy and separate.