Kids & Parenting

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One day as I was looking at the progress our vegetable and herb gardens were making, I noticed a few things lying in the dirt. There was an army man, an airplane, a piece of a matchbox car and the nozzle used to fill water balloons.

Looking at these things made me sad. They reminded me of the two little boys who used to play in the dirt and mud in our backyard with their trucks and plastic army men. They'd build forts with sticks and rocks and dig holes, which they then poured water into. There were also many kids in our backyard having water balloon fights and squirting each other with water guns.

As I was thinking about how sad I was that these boys are growing up and exploring other interests, I thought about God. I realized that as God watches His children mature in their faith and in their walk with Him, He is elated! He doesn't want His kids to stay young and to continue to act childish. He doesn't miss His "babies" the way I do. Instead, He embraces each step we take toward maturity. God wants us to grow up.

"Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity,..." Hebrews 6:1

My children have to grow up in order to live the life God has planned for each of them. If I hinder their maturity, I hinder the work of God. I would create stagnation in their walk with Him and cause them to stall out on the road to eternal life. I don't want to do this. I want my boys to grow to be Godly men and to raise Godly children of their own.

So I need to let go of the plastic toys in the dirt and cheer my sons on as they walk on more fertile ground and grow into the men that God intends them to be.

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