“I will never move back to this town,” I whispered as my parents packed the minivan with my college dorm supplies. I was ready to leave and wasn’t going to look back.

And for a long time, I didn’t.

Seasons changed. I changed, too.

I found myself shifting and growing into new versions of myself. I made mistakes and learned lessons that only come with figuring life out as you go. I sat in lecture halls and realized the world was bigger than I ever realized.

I learned. I unlearned. I relearned.

I graduated. Had a job with my very own cubicle. Got married. Became a mother. Bought a house. Moved. Moved again.

I reconsidered things. I looked at life and all its beautiful, terrible glory from different angles. I prayed with an open heart. Sometimes, I was surprised at the miracle. Other times, I was heartbroken at the silence. I read books — novels, memoirs, and how-tos.

My world expanded, and so did I.

Change is obvious when we’re in a transitional moment: graduation, marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, retirement, a health diagnosis — take your pick. But we’re always changing, whether we like it or not. Our bodies quite literally renew themselves over time. Skin replaces itself through a natural process every 27 days. We are not the same people today that we were a month ago. No matter what season of life you’re in, what would happen if you approach this transitional time as an invitation to be transformed in the love of God?

We are all capable of change. Every minute, every second of the day, we’re becoming.

So the question is: Who are you becoming?

What have you made up your mind about? Where do you get your news? Who do you interact with who doesn’t look or think like you?

Do you listen to learn or to help craft your argument?

In fourth grade, my teacher invited us to grab our three-ring binders (mine was of the Looney Tunes variety) to create what she called our “Life-Long Notebooks”. She helped us take loose-leaf paper and her preprinted tabs to create an organized place to add our observations about the newly built butterfly garden, our wonderings about the world, and our hopes for ourselves. She encouraged us to stay curious and open, not just in the classroom but wherever our lives took us.

My first college internship was at a local newspaper. My editor, then in her early 40s (I shudder to admit I thought she was quite old at the time), told me that she stuck around day after day because she was always learning something. She met new people, asked new questions, and learned new things.

You don’t have to be an eager 10-year-old or a seasoned newspaper editor to be a lifelong learner.

A commitment to learning about the world, the people in it, and the God who made it is key to living a faithful life. We can trust God with our wonderings because God gave us the spirit of curiosity in the first place. It’s when Christians refuse to learn and grow that we get into dangerous situations.

I’m not the same person I was five years ago, and I hope that in five years, I’ll be a different person than I am now. I don’t want to alter the fundamentals of who I am, but I want to grow fully into who God created me to be. I want to keep learning — to be, as Romans 12:2 says, transformed by the renewing of my mind. I don’t want to do this to accumulate more knowledge — I want to do this to fully love God and my neighbors.

Spiritual transformation is not always comfortable, but it is sanctifying. Our spiritual walks with Christ are ongoing. We don’t stop learning the vastness and fullness of God, our world, and ourselves the day we say a certain prayer or hit a specific milestone.

When I read my Bible, I feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland, opening doors and going down rabbit holes, often finding more questions than answers. The more I learn, the more I wonder. The more I wonder, the more I learn. A life walking with Christ is comforting yet often confounding. The more we embrace a posture of Christian curiosity, the more our worlds get, as Lewis Carroll put it, “curiouser and curiouser.”

You are allowed to change your mind. You don’t have to draw lines in the sand and dig in your heels.

Take it from me: After 15 years away, I began dreaming of moving back to my hometown.

I changed.

And by the grace of God, I will continue to shift and change with the seasons, knowing that in all my shades of becoming, the steadfast love of Christ never ceases.

As you enjoy all the activities the summer has to offer, may you stay curious and live with an open heart, forming deeper connections with yourself, your neighbors, and the One who breathes every season into existence.

Article by Kayla Craig from the (in)courage archives and featured in Everyday Faith Magazine.

The Summer 2025 edition of Everyday Faith is available now, and you’re going to love it! 

From cover to cover, you will find stories and articles to inspire your heart. Find activities for summer road trips, recipes for summertime gatherings, stories of persevering through difficult times, tips for celebrating seasonal traditions, summer Bible reading guides, and much more. We hope this issue helps you experience and express God’s love in fresh, authentic, and inspiring ways!

The article above is just one of many featured in Everyday Faith magazine, which is perfect for gifting to a friend, Bible Study sister, Sunday School teacher, or neighbor. And to help you do just that, we’re giving away* FIVE sets of magazines — one for each winner and one for them to give to a friend!

Leave a comment telling us to whom you’d gift a copy, and we’ll draw five winners.

*Giveaway is open to US addresses only and will close on 6/7/2025 at 11:59 pm Central.

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