Growing Pains

The other day, Erica and I were discussing the subject matter found in my previous post. We talked about how awkward puberty was and how awkward it is to see others go through it. The strange, ever-changing voice, the weird foreign lumps in places that were smooth just months before. You know the drill. The one saving grace is that it only happens once. You have an awkward time in your life roughly the same time all of your friends do and you stick together and bond during that time. You close your bedroom door and hide out for a little while until it's safe to come out. Then you resume life, knowing a little more and looking a little different, but nevertheless, you move on.

Take that same experience and look at it from a spiritual perspective. Believe me, this was not a revelation I was jumping up and down about. As followers of Christ, we have a birth, a place where it all starts, and then we proceed to grow. Then, like puberty, we have an awkward time of walking out our new life. We start to really live it and find that it's not always as easy as it looks for other people. We start to test the things we are told and sometimes we have victory and other times we experience defeat. All while Satan whispers distracting things in our ears. Then we make it through to the other side having learned something new and hopefully looking a little different than before. That, however, is not the end of it. It is only the beginning of the awkward growth spurts we will experience throughout our walk. That is what, I think, should keep us humble.

As an adult, I sometimes find myself looking at children or teenagers with such arrogance. I think, "Oh, poor little things. They have so much to learn. Someday they will know all too well the bitter truth about life." Then I think about all the badges I have on my sleeve that show all the things I've been through and all the knowledge I have acquired. I become prideful of the position I have gained. In the spiritual game of life, there unfortunately is no seniority. There is not a point at which we can sit back and hit the cruise control and enjoy the rest of the trip. We are constantly changing. Constantly going to new levels. At least, we should be if we're doing it right.

So, here's to awkward spiritual growth spurts. May we always have them and may we learn to embrace them for the fruit they produce in us.