Being A Kid At The Grown Up Table

Sometimes I’m surrounded by all these grown up’s and think, “Wow, they are so wise. I hope when I grow up I have half their wisdom.” Then I get the harsh reality that I might be considered a grown up.

Is 37 a grown up???

I’ll have two teenagers next month. My oldest is taller than me. Making me feel even more like a child.

I struggle to feel qualified to share anything. The enemy has me right where he wants me. Scared, insecure and unqualified.

There’s this woman at my church who insists I use my God-given gifts!!! The nerve, right? She pushes me out of my comfort zone often and then tells me to knock it off when I’m filled with doubt. She sees something in me that I can’t see for myself. At times I’m convinced she’s crazy and other times I’m so grateful that God would put someone in my life who demands more out of me.

1 Timothy 4 says,

¹² Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. ¹³ Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. ¹⁴ Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. ¹⁵ Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. ¹⁶ Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

Okay, so maybe I’m going way too far with this whole “youth” thing because lets face it, 37 is practically 40 and the aching back and wrinkled eyes paint a different picture. But these verses still pierce my heart. “Do not neglect the gift that is in you…” I so want to neglect my gifts. I want to hide where I’m safe from ridicule. I want to stay in the safety of feeling like I’m soooo young and have plenty of time to share my amazing insights and lessons. But God is asking me to “give myself entirely to them, that my progress may be evident to all.”

So scary, right? But there’s good news! I can be unqualified and still obey because Christ is qualified and His Spirit resides in me. hallelujah!

I pray you all have someone in your life, who you try to avoid, so they won’t ask you out of your comfort zone.

God has great use for you and I am thankful for that.

 

 

Everyone Needs A Little Weirdo

In 2011 we had three kids and completely done forming our little family. God had a very different plan for us and miraculously put a bun in the oven. Shamefully, I was devastated. The youngest was 4 and I was SO done having babies. Now, in my defense I had very rough pregnancies and my labors were pretty awful too. Plus, I was very sick and we didn’t yet know why. So we were scared that this mystery illness was going to kill me or the baby or maybe even both. But God, in all His hilarity, thought it was the perfect time to bring in a child.

Her pregnancy was as awful as suspected. I only left my bed to go to the bathroom. My husband had to help bathe me because the pain and weakness was so severe I couldn’t manage on my own. It was incredibly hard but definitely brought me closer to God!

Her birth was super dramatic, which now seeing her personality is of no surprise. This kid is a total weirdo!

She understood humor at, what I thought, was a very early age. She would laugh at jokes in movies way before the others did. She was witty and sarcastic the moment she started to speak.

One time when she was around 6 months we were driving in the van and our older daughter was in the far back seat. The baby was directly in front of her and facing her in the car seat. Well, the older girl (5 years) ended up getting sick and started projectile vomiting all over the van. Ewwwww! Well, our precious little weirdo starts belly laughing! She thinks it’s absolutely hysterical.

She is now 7 years old and still is just as witty. She says stuff all the time that just crack us up. She has these great facial expressions to go along with all her drama and wit. She also makes up words that we all end up using as if it’s now in good ol’ Webster.

Examples…..

Argusation– (noun) A word used to refer to someone who is having an argument conversation with another person.

Weeganwhile– (noun)  A small cart with a single wheel at the front and two supporting legs and two handles at the rear. (you may know it as a wheelbarrow)

Glamsation– (noun) A statement that is fancier then an ordinary explanation.

Hesicoat–  (noun) An optical instrument designed to make distant objects appear nearer.

Asktren– (verb) The process of asking a question.

She’s also a bit on the sassy side. Which I understand I should get under control immediately but it’s so hard when the things that come out of her mouth are so funny and she is after all the baby of the family. Don’t judge me!

Examples of sarcasm and sass…..

She tells her brother she is hungry. He says, “No you’re not.” She says, “(brother!) You literally don’t know my life!”

At age three she receives a gift from our very best friends. It’s a shirt from the place they had just visited. All the kids got one and were happy and grateful.  All the kids are reading the shirt and telling me what it says. She chimes in and says, “this shirt says, ‘This shirt is lame.” Thank God the friends weren’t around at this point!

One night I’m cooking dinner and she sees its chicken and decides she wont like it. She tells me that the doctor says she can’t have it because she’s allergic to it. She was three years old!!!

She wasn’t in our plans but in God’s and I’m so thankful. He knows better. She came into our lives when we were slowly watching me die. We were scared, depressed and lost. God looked at us and thought, this family needs a little weirdo. She was the exact thing we needed at that time. She brought life back into our home. God is merciful and will provide in our darkest hour. Sometimes what He is providing looks impossible. Sometimes it even looks like the very thing that will kill you. But He promises “those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:30)

I will leave you with my baby girls wisest statement to date….

People shouldn’t call themselves dumb, unless their dumb. Then they should call themselves dumb.