Retraining

Sometimes when we have been away from a learned skill, it takes some retraining to retrieve that skill back to where it once was. This happened to me recently when I was loaned out to another department at my place of employment, a medical device manufacturing facility called COOK Medical. I work in the Dilators Department but to help COOK Medical stay on top of product demands, I was asked to help out in the Sheaths Department for a short time. When I returned back to the Dilators Department, I did pretty well when it came to our usual orders. However, eventually it was my turn to do a size that I was not as familiar with. I know that I was proficient before I left to help out in Sheaths. However, no matter what I tried, I just could not get the product to cooperate. My biggest problem was that it would get stuck in the formation mold, and I would have to reform it. With so much time being wasted reworking each product, I decided that it was time to wave the red flag and ask my trainer for some help. In just about 10 minutes he had me back on track. My frustration was gone and now I could complete the order with ease.

This same scenario can happen in our own spiritual journey. Only in this case, it might not be as obvious. It has been many decades since I became a Christian. It happened at a special weekend event at our church titled “Lay Witness Mission.” At this event, people from all over the United States came and gave their testimonies. They helped me to understand that my immoral behavior is called sin, but I don’t have to feel the guilt anymore because Jesus completely paid the debt for my sin by dying on the cross. That relationship has definitely grown deeper throughout the years. However, unfortunately sin continues to be a constant struggle and can actually cause a separation between me and the Lord. Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities (immoral behavior) have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”(KIV) This is such a lost and lonely place to be, but the good news is that we can get that relationship back. It only takes asking for forgiveness through prayer and getting some retraining, so that we don’t continue to fall into that same old trap again and again. Our guidebook is the Bible, and often we can gain great insight by doing a personal study or have others retrain us by going to church and listening to respected leaders who focus on the word of God.

From that very first day and every day after that, our main goal as a Christian is to be “Christ like.” We are to strive to emulate Him and reflect His love to the world. The awesome part is that we don’t have to change ourselves. When we invite Jesus into our lives it is He who changes us from the inside out. If we step away from the Lord and forget what the Lord has taught us, all we have to do is wave the red flag. He is more than happy to retrain us and help us get back to that close relationship that comes from knowing and loving Him.