As We Grow

The little girl ran, pumping her arms harder than she ever had before. Her cheeks were flushed with blood and her breath came out in short puffs--but she HAD to get there. Jumping over a log, she twirled once--twice--and nearly tripped forward as her sketchers caught underneath her. The sun was high and a soft breeze blew through the small park where the children played. But soon enough, she saw her. Giggling, the girl threw herself into the arms of her mother and she snuggled her warm cheek into the familiar neck. Her mother's arms wrapped around her and they sat there, content. 

I remember when I was younger and I was enthusiastic about everything. My grandma has recordings of me as a child singing and exclaiming (proudly) that I loved Jesus and I knew that he loved me. I was that kid who loved playing outside; who was a princess one day but a spy the next. Essentially, there wasn't a care in the world. So here is my question, where does that enthusiasm go?

Let's focus on the Jesus aspect (naturally), because I'm still that girl who wants to imagine that she is a spy, but where did the important excitement go? When I was in first grade I would proclaim the knowledge to Jesus to everyone I knew. When I was in fourth grade I would memorize up to five verses a week. But as I grew older, it began to fade.

I'm not completely off when I say that this is how it works for a lot of people.

So why?

The girl had grown. Her sneakers turned into flats and her pigtails grew into curls. Her eyes got bigger and her mind grew wider. She began to see the world around her. Standing in front of the mirror, the 15 year old turned one way and then shifted the next, her heart in her throat. There was too much fat here, not enough curve there. Her friends looked differently, they looked better. They had boyfriends. Someone had commented about her clothes earlier that day. She needed to watch what she ate. 

"Honey, we have to leave if we want to make it to church!" Her mother yelled from downstairs. Drawing in a deep breath, the girl bit her lip and met her own eyes in the clear reflection. She wanted to cry. She really didn't want to go. 

It took her a moment or two before she grabbed onto her old worn Bible and tore her eyes away from the mirror. It wasn't as if she had a choice in the first place. "COMING!"

As we grow older the world starts to unravel in front of us. Our innocent and naive minds start to open up and suddenly we are sucked into this dark world that is laid in front of us. We are born human with human thoughts and with human sins; but thankfully Christ was set in front of us to open up the light and the path that we need to follow. Yet the older we get, the harder it becomes to see Him. Whereas these stories aren't particularly about me, I can certainly relate with some of the moments and thoughts that come with them. I remember planning to go to church and then suddenly turning around and not wanting to go. I'd rather be watching TV, or reading, or even just lurking in my own 'miserable' thoughts.

As we get older the tides change. Christ's light begins to fade, and the World's haze takes its place. Try as we must, it is a hard journey and it takes a constant thought. There is a reason that Christ's path is a narrow one, because you have to want it and you have to seek it.

The woman sat at the kitchen table and sipped at her coffee cup. Somewhere in the background she could hear the baby crying, and in the other room her husband was getting ready for church. She should be getting dressed. Inhaling, she shifted her kindle in front of her and read through the first few lines of a chapter. 
"Hey, we are leaving in ten; shouldn't you get dressed?" He asked while walking into the room--he was buttoning up his shirt. The woman took another sip of her coffee--she was so tired. 
"I think I'll stay home today. The baby is in an irritated mood." Another excuse. This had been the fourth one this month. She didn't know why he kept asking. 
He looked at her for a minute before turning away and filling up his own mug with coffee. "Yeah. Okay. Next week then." 
"Next week." She agreed. 

It is easy to get caught up with the world. It is easy to forget and to tuck Christ away. How often is it that we turn Him into a checklist? Something to cross off the list and move on with the day? Do we not realize that Christ is EVERYTHING that we could possibly need with the world? That he is of us and we should be of him? That he loves us and cares for us and protects us? That he died for us?

Guys, God is not a chore. He is not a motivational tool to pick you up only on rainy days. He is GOD. And he deserves to have a relationship with us. He deserves our enthusiasm and we will never be worthy of what he has to offer us.

Sure, we will never be as innocent as we once were as children. And we now see the pain that the world holds--but instead of looking at it as a wound, glance at this as a shift. God simply shifts from the role of 'Jesus Loves Me' sing song to the Father and protector that we all need. He is our light and he is our path and he is our way.

And finally, he will never let us go. God is relentless and he will speak to us time and time again; and it is up to us to listen. We are Christ's children and he loves us more than anything.

A girl will always be her father's 'little girl', whether or not she still wears pigtails; and we will always be God's children. It's just time for you to look up and rekindle the relationship you once had as a child. Because it's never to late.