Growing Up Is A Mystery

It's amazing how much you can learn from a four year old. I've always loved kids, and being around them. I'm still somewhat of a kid. Three of my favorite kids to babysit of all time, are Autumn, Caden and Maddy Hines. They always give me so much joy every time I watch over them. Today, I had an hour long conversation with four year old Maddy about the existence of Jesus, and the difference between real and fake. I listened as this precious girl rant on about her favorite princesses, and how much she loved Jesus. So young, but she knows what's up. I listened to all their pointless stories, and creative ideas. I wished so badly I could go back in time, and think as simply as they do. I wish I didn't have to grow up. It was so nice to to not know what heartbreak felt like, or the cruelty out in the world. Maddy calls all the evil in the world, "The Bad Guys." And well, I wish I never knew the bad guys. As I look at their faces, and listened to them laugh and play, I realized someday they'll grow up. The world they will someday occupy will be worse than the one we currently dwell in. They won't stay cute and innocent forever. But I guess, it's neat to see how far I've come from the good ol' days. From the days of Barney and playing dress up. Growing up is an important part of life. We have to go through all the stages in order to become who we are meant to be. We were specifically and carefully designed to slowly obtain knowledge and understanding of how the world works. In Ephesians 3:16-19, it discusses the mysteries of God's plan. "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Life is a mystery, that we will never understand. No matter how much you lay down the facts, and try to find answers, there will always be mysteries. That's the beauty of faith. If we could know everything, and why things are, and that God really is real, then we would have no faith left to prove. This idea is expressed in a song by JJ Heller, called "Invisible Love." It's a life worth living. Through each year, each stage and each challenge, it's all worth it. Someday all will be known when we go home. 

Read Ephesians 3