A couple days ago I went to the dentist. Not. Fun.
The really interesting part was that as I squirmed and sweat through the scraping, stings, and sounds, I just wanted to hear a "Good job!" or "Wow, you're brave!"
Oh, to be young again. When I was little and went through such agonies as the dentist, my mom would always be at my side to cheer me on. Even the dentist herself would comment on how well I sat still and didn't whine. Now I feel like I fight just as hard to be good, but receive no affirmation.
As I sat and held my hands together as hard as I could to get through the torture, I pondered this feeling within me. This desire to be noticed, appreciated, and encouraged the same as when I was little. The need to be told I'm brave. Silly, right? I don't think so.
You see, I don't think I'm the only adult that longs for this. I am sure there are grown men that sit down to pay bills and hear whispers of their past saying "Whew, you are a brave guy." Grown-ups who get up and ready for work and long to hear "Wow, good job!" again.
The fact is that a woman will always be that little girl twirling in her dress wanting to be told she's pretty; and a man will always be that little boy playing warrior and wanting to be told how big and strong and tough he is.
We are still so much like children. I think that's part of why life gets so hard when you grow up. The desires to hear these phrases and be affirmed are the same on the inside; but it'd just be silly and embarrassing to admit that or to actually say things like that to an adult.
We are still SO much like children. But you know what blows my mind? God asks us to be like children in the most intimate of ways. He asks us to be HIS children. Amazing, huh? And He asks us to behave like children in our faith- to have a childlike faith in Him (Matthew 18:3,4). To simply have faith and trust Him without questions, fears, or taking the controls.
And this is where we stop being so much like children. This is where we go back to being grown-ups and can't seem to step back to our childhood... maybe we even don't want to.
But this is where we need to be children- we desperately need to be His children, act like His children, and trust Him like His children. He's just waiting for us to live with a daily faith in Him- completely resting in Him and adoring Him as our Father.
Can you do this? Step back from being a grown-up and revel in being His daughter or son. Crawl up in His lap and lean your head on His shoulder. Let Him wrap His arms around you. Whisper, "Daddy".
And find the real peace and joy of being a kid again.
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Awww...what a sweet post! That is a neat parallel at the end - about being a child in Christ! Great post! :)
ReplyDeleteYou know what else? When people do compliment me, like 'Oh, you're such a good mom' or something, it makes me feel so guilty - my mind instantly flies to the last time I snapped at my adorable toddler or the last time I spanked him out of anger & had to apologize...but yet I appreciate the affirmation, but never want to act like it. Do you get what I'm saying?
I do get what you're saying. It's like we've become accustomed to such a critical world now we kinda can't go back to just soaking up the compliment. Like if someone says my hair looks good (one example) I'm always like "Oh, uch I hardly did it!" I feel like I need to diffuse the compliment. Then Jason always scolds me later and says "Honey, just accept the compliment." But I feel weird just being like "Thanks!" I feel like I must counter it. hmmm...
ReplyDeleteEmily, I would love to have been with you at the dentist to tell you how brave you are. This was a very interesting post (is that the right word?) and reminds us of how much we need the support of others.
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