Growing up was always one of my least favorite things. The freedoms such as driving and making independent decisions seemed far less appealing than the securities I enjoyed as a child. Sure being grown up might be great but the process of getting there certainly wasn’t fun. I remember while in my mid-teens asking Mom when you get to the point where you have life figured out. Her response was both terrifying and reassuring – she said (I am paraphrasing here) “I haven’t gotten there, I’m not sure you ever do”. What!? You mean there isn’t some magical moment in which maturity and wisdom will suddenly be mine, when I won’t have to wonder what is next? Yet at the same time I was relieved; this is a part of everyone’s life, growing up is a process we all have opportunity to partake in.
A better term for what I used to refer to as “growing up” is maturing. It’s more than a growth spurt and actually can be avoided, albeit at great personal detriment. Maturity is a choice. This is why we really don’t finish ‘growing up’ by going to college, getting married, having children, having a successful ministry or establishing a career. We can participate in externals, even become successful, without making wise internal decisions and many times we confuse the external success with internal growth – the two are not naturally synonymous. In fact, true internal maturity is marked by an absence of grasping for success in this life. Hebrews 11 is rife with insight on what success in this life lacks and what actually has value and is worth grasping.
Before I begin a tangent on Hebrews 11…
I am thankful for the choice to mature – that the journey of ‘growing up’ doesn’t end at a white picket fence and that my family (natural and spiritual) called me into maturity even when I didn’t always appreciate it. It might not always be fun but it’s worth it.