I am an Adult…

I was struck by something significant this year on Thanksgiving day. I was busy in the kitchen for the second day in a row and it hit me, I am an adult. I know this sounds crazy; especially being that I am 46 years old and have hosted family Thanksgivings in my home for several years now. But, the thought truly stopped me in my tracks. When did this happen? When did I become responsible enough to prepare Thanksgiving? In fact, when exactly did I become so responsible in general?

You see, it seems like just yesterday that I was a kid in my Aunt Mary’s kitchen, watching her prepare her famous Thanksgiving dressing. I was completely unaware of the responsibility circling around her. The thought truly never crossed my mind as I watched my Aunt that I would host Thanksgiving in my own home for my own family one day.

That same precocious child who always dreamt of being a mom never considered the responsibility of motherhood. It never occurred to me that I would one day fumble through the teenage years, making difficult decisions about another human beings’ future with the weight of that responsibility often making me weak in my knees.

I am an adult. When did this happen? When did all of this responsibility show up? Who in their right mind would put me in charge of Thanksgiving? Does God really think that I have what it takes to raise a child?

The smattering of grey hair, the fine lines around my eyes, the awareness of time not just marching but sprinting on baffles me. When did I become an adult?

You see, often God is preparing us so efficiently that we don’t even realize the significant changes occurring around us. We are so busy with the task of living that we don’t pay attention to the shifts in roles and responsibility. And when we are children, we definitely take for granted all the things people are doing to keep our lives moving along. We have no idea that responsibility even exists.

It’s no wonder that Jesus tells us to approach the kingdom of heaven like little children. You see, children are not tainted by the weight of responsibility. They admire heaven, Jesus and the world around them with innocent abandon and blissful faith.

So, maybe the realization that I am an adult was God’s way of whispering to me to let go and approach life like a child. Maybe it was his way of assuring me that I can handle it all by remembering that I am simply a child being guided by her Father. The responsibility is actually His and my role is to be an obedient daughter, faithful and trusting.

When did I become an adult? Well that happened all while I was yet a child in my Father’s eyes.

Be joyful!

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:2‭-‬3 NIV