Well it is official I suppose. I have officially become old in my children's eyes. Isaac asked me this morning how old I was. I told him and he said geez dad that's old! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Then, he says something about the graying of my hair! Sometimes I think that little fart is too smart for his own good.
I don't know why that stung a little bit. I know full well that 32 isn't old and I also know that gray hair is better than no hair; at least for now! Also, age has never been a big deal for me. I had a couple friends that hit 30 and it was a big deal for them, but I guess I've never worried about it. I don't mind getting old, really I don't. Maybe I don't want to be old or old fashioned in my kids eyes. I suppose I want to be the cool dad, but I can't let that happen because I'm going to relish embarrassing my kids. I think that's why we don't have a girl...God is protecting her from me and all the issues she'd have to work through from the emotional scars she would acquire growing up with me as a dad!
Getting older means getting more mature right? Well, in some areas of our lives it should. As we experience more and more of life we get a better understanding of how the world works. We realize that we have more and more responsibilities and can't keep acting like we did 5, 10, 15 years ago. As we get older we should mature in our faith life too. Just as life experiences make us more mature those same experiences cause our faith to grow too. As we struggle through tough times and come out the other end we begin to understand that God will see us through. As we continue to study God's word and see how it can help us through life we begin to understand the importance it has in our lives. As we are generous with what has been given to us (talent, time, money, etc.) we see how God blesses our lives, and others, through our generosity. As we see how our attitude and how we treat others affects how we interact with the world and receive God's blessings.
What's that? You don't see this happening? Did you know that most adults have an elementary Sunday school understanding of the Bible? Has your faith grown? It doesn't happen automatically. Yes life experience can help us grow in our faith, but we need to be studying the Word and being in community with other believes to truly help our faith grow. If there is one thing we should know by being in a farming community it is that you need to water something to make it grow. Well "water" for your faith is Bible study, prayer, devotion, and worship. Without those how can you expect to learn more and grown? And if your faith doesn't grow then how can you expect it to continue to be a sense of strength for you? Does an 8th grade level of spiritual maturity help a 32+ year old make sense of life? I don't think so. Consider this a challenge to grow your faith. If you feel like your faith life has grown stagnant then it is a good possibility you've stopped watering it. There are many opportunities to feed and grow your faith. Will you take advantage of them?
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