grown-up

Being an Adult

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

blanket-fort-coloring

Have you ever had the feeling that everyone else has mastered the art of being grown-up and you’re failing? That maybe everyone else got a secret handbook on how to be an adult or went to some clandestine meeting that you weren’t privy to and learned all about how to act mature?

I know I do sometimes. Sometimes I feel like I’ve gotten really good at faking adulthood and that at any moment a real adult is going to catch on and send me back to junior high. Or possibly 4th grade.

I truly believe that most adults are good fakers. Most of us don’t really know what we’re doing or what’s really going on but we’ve mastered the art of looking and acting like we do. Most of us would rather be in that blanket fort coloring but are too scared to admit it.

I’ve learned over my life that freedom from fear comes when you realize that you’re not the only one who struggles with that particular issue. You’re not the lone freak in a world of completely normal people. Normal is an illusion anyway and the people who seem the most normal are most likely the best at hiding their idiosyncrasies and weirdnesses from the rest of us.

I also think that most of us have grown up believing that Jesus loves the good little boys and girls. In other words, the ones who act normal. I don’t know whether that was intentionally taught or not, but most of us caught that message loud and clear.

The truth is that Jesus loves even the bad girls and boys. He loves the boys and girls who always seem to screw up, the ones who have the best intentions that somehow always turn into the worst train wrecks imaginable. He doesn’t help those who help themselves, but rather those who know they can’t.

That’s the Gospel. Jesus loves the little children, ALL the children of  the world. Even the weirdos.

 

When You Grow Up

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I’m sure you’ve been asked this inevitable question at some point in your formative years. At some point in grade school or high school or college, someone asked you this:

“So, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

There’s a few things wrong with that question.

First, some people take longer than others to find that supreme calling. Some are well past grown up and still haven’t decided what they want to be yet.

Second, the likelihood these days is that you won’t spend 30-40 years in one job at one place. You’ll more than likely have several jobs and more than a few careers. Anymore, people change jobs every 2 years and most will change careers at least once.

You are not defined by what you do for a living or how much you make at your job. No matter what society or your friends or your family tells you.

You are defined not by what you do or who you are but by Whose you are. If you belong to Jesus, that’s how you’re defined from now on.

Your identity doesn’t crumble when you get laid off or (perish the thought) fired. Your identity rests securely in the person of Jesus.

You are Forgiven, Paid For, Forgiven, Child of God, and (my personal favorite) Beloved. You could probably think of a few more names associated with being in Christ.

So on those nights when you don’t feel particularly special or like you matter, remember Jesus paid the ultimate price for you because He believed that you were worth it.

Things I Love 12: Tested And Approved by Lucy The Wonder Kitty

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

island hammock

Lucy is in my lap, approving  whatever I type. Of course, she can’t read, but if she could, she would add her own comments (most of which would not be fit to print in a family-style blog such as this one). So I’ll take her silence as either approval or extreme sleepiness.

The list commences with #264 (I think).

264) Ice-cold water to quench my thirst on a humid summer day.

265) A long walk alone under a full moon at night (as opposed to all those moonlit walks during the day).

266) That I’m finally at a place where I’m comfortable alone or in a crowd.

267) Planned spontaneity.

268) That I’ve come to the place where if I never see a certain person ever again (and at the moment it appears very likely to be the case), that I will be glad for the friendship; I will miss her, but my life will go on.

269) Those quiet moments of peace where God speaks into my silence.

270) That with God, every day is a day to look forward to.

271) Reading collects out of The Book of Common Prayer and seeing my own prayers expressed better than I could ever put them.

272) That this blog site has spell-check so that I can appear smarter than I really am, i.e. that I can actually spell.

273) That I really don’t have to be friends with everyone or have everyone like me to be content.

274) That everything will be fine in the end, and if it’s not fine, it’s not the end.

275) Good lines from good movies (like the one I just referenced earlier).

276) Chocolate bars with bacon in them (it sounds gross, but tastes divine).

277) All of my quirks

278) That I have to show my driver’s license to prove that I really am the age I say I am.

279) That even though Jon Acuff might have more readers for one blog than I’ve had for all my 1,000+ blogs combined, that I have touched and impacted lives that wouldn’t have been touched and impacted had I chosen not to write a blog.

280) That I can use bad grammar, and bad punctuation, in my blogs, if I so, choose.

281) Those rare times when the Church is known for what it’s for rather than what it’s against.

282) That I can learn something from anybody, no matter what their philosophical, theological, political or social beliefs and regardless of whether or not they have the same worldview as mine.

283) That hamburger from The Pharmacy with bacon, ham, and a fried egg (10,000 calories of deliciousness!)

284) That the last spoken words from Jesus in the Bible aren’t a condemnation but an invitation.

285) When I talk into a box fan and make my voice sound like a robot.

286) That being grown-up doesn’t always mean having to be mature all the time.

287) That the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.

288) The way my cat Lucy hovers when she goes to the bathroom.

289) Not knowing all the answers (or even all of the questions).

290) A perfectly made and perfectly thrown paper airplane.

291) That I saw the actual Batmobile from the campy 60’s TV show tonight in downtown Franklin

292) That this list will continue– maybe tomorrow, maybe not. You’ll just have to tune in tomorrow to find out. Same bat time, same bat channel.

My Disclaimer

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Just in case you thought I had it all figured out, this is my disclaimer: I don’t.

Sometimes, I have no clue what’s going on. Sometimes it really feels like everybody else on the planet has got their act together and I am wondering where I left my cell phone when it was just in my hand a second ago.

I know what Tom Hank’s character in the movie Big feels like. I know what it feels like to be a kid in a grown-up’s body. Sometimes I ask myself questions like “When did I get grown-up? Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was a kid?” and “Haven’t they figured out by now that I’m faking this whole adult thing?”

Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad to be an adult. It means I survived with the vast majority of my mental facilities. That’s a good thing.

But no, I don’t have my 20-year life plan mapped out and diagrammed just yet. I’m not too sure what I’ll be doing tomorrow. Surprises are much more fun, don’t you think?

I do know that while I don’t have a clue sometimes, God always knows what’s up.

I still believe that he who began a good work in me will complete it. I still believe that he works all things together for good. I still believe that he knows the plans he has for me.

So if you feel like you haven’t quite figured out this whole “being an adult” thing, remember that you’re not the only one. I haven’t, and I’m sure there are plenty of others who haven’t, but just aren’t brave enough to admit it.

I find myself leaning on the sovereignty of God a lot more these days and trusting him a lot more. These days, it’s not about trusting him with my whole life. It’s more about trusting him for the next five minutes.

I think that’s a good place to be.