Each week, a rostered minister from the Office of the Bishop will share a Lenten Devotion about how they connect to God through self-care practices. This week we here from Pastor Kelly Bayer Derrick.
I am a nerd. I love, love, love to learn new things, to be asked a question that invites my curiosity, to dig deeper into God’s word, to engage in Bible study. I love when I read scripture or theology and my initial thought is: huh, what does that mean?! I love when the Holy Spirit invites me to consider something in a new way. I love when the Spirit moves in and through other people – whose questions and insights enrich my relationship with God and with humanity. I am a nerd, and I LOVE it!
I didn’t always love my nerdiness, to be honest. For a very long time, I never even considered that my love of learning, my curiosity were gifts from God. But, in my curiosity, I am living as exactly “who God made me, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” (Ephesians 2.10 KDBD)
For a long time, I never considered that my nerdy curiosity is a way that I connect deeply with God. It never occurred to me that my continuous litany of questions when I read the Bible is actually a holy conversation with God. It is prayer. It is selfcare. It is just one of the ways that God strengthens me – in body, mind, and spirit.
My prayerful, sacred curiosity is just one of the ways that the Holy Spirit is transforming me, my mind, and my life. “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12.2)
Given my curiosity, of course I had to dig deeper into that verse from Romans! Did you know that the word “transformed” in English is the Greek word “metamorpho’o” (like metamorphosis). AND it’s the very same word that the gospel writers of Mark (9.2) and Matthew (17.2) use to describe the appearance of Jesus at his transfiguration. Jesus was transformed – shining forth with divine light, making God’s holy presence known in and through him. Wow! And God is also present in and through us – transforming our minds, our hearts, our whole selves so that we live as God’s holy people. How cool is that!?! Thanks Holy Spirit! 😉
