This was not a very pleasant opinion of his co-workers. To him it was clear that folks had a first year experience and then just subsequent years of doing the same thing. The first year experience proved “good enough.”

Whether the person making these comments was accurate or not about the co-workers, (perhaps he was more accurate about himself) the issue raised in his comment points up yet another reason why, in our spiritual lives, we are constantly inspired by experiences with God. Those experiences can come to us in very private moments. Those experiences can come to us in the midst of a whole congregation in worship. Those experiences can come to us in the cycle of holiday observances of family traditions. Those experiences can come to us in the routine. The list is infinite.

What occurs spiritually with God is that our tenure of relationship with God is always a brand new experience. The experience of God, the epiphany moment, is always fresh and always transforming. We can have regular and long tenure in spiritual expression and development. But that long tenure is made possible because when God encounters us, when we experience God, no matter how long we have been seeking God’s presence in our lives, the encounter is always putting us on the cutting edge of life’s development, meaning and opportunity. So we truly do have many years of experience. There is no boredom.

This experience changes our lives and gives us always a wonderfully fresh perspective on life, our lives, and the lives of others. God is with us. That makes all the difference.