This is like the sixth time that I've tried to write a post in response to an article that I read online. In the past, I've never actually posted anything, because I get so worked up about the topic that my indignation removes my ability to properly form sentences.
And I was about to try again, because I am sick and tired of the way my generation views adulthood, marriage, parenthood, careers, finances, and...well, just about everything. Our entitlement makes me sick. Our selfishness knows no bounds. I am embarrassed to tell people that I'm twenty-three, because of the immature, irresponsible, self-centered lifestyle that is so glorified and promoted by many people my age. I have spent the past ten years of my life trying to prove my birthdays wrong.
But what will another drop in the massive bucket that is the (ugh) "blogosphere" really do? Maybe a little. Maybe a lot. Honestly, with an unpopular viewpoint like mine, maybe nothing. And as I was despairing, God reminded me of something very important.
I was trying to type out a strong, unyielding argument as to why we should grow up already instead of partying like it's 1999 and wasting our time in the name of "finding ourselves." But I was interrupted by my son, who is almost nine months old, crawling to my desk, lifting his little hands to ask me to pick him up. I looked down at him, pulled him up into my lap, and hit the backspace button to delete the nonsense he immediately pounded out on my keyboard.
That's when I realized that you, miscellaneous internet audience, may not care what I have to say. Because, really, you don't have to listen to me at all.
With Judah, though, I have a very unique and God-given role. I have his attention, at least for a little while. I can share with him my own folly, my own desperate need for a Savior, my own need to humble myself to be used for the glory of God. And he will watch. He will notice. Children notice.
So this post, which I fully intended to be an advocation for responsibility to the world at large, has become a letter.
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Dear Judah,
While I was pregnant with you, I read a chapter from the book of Proverbs most mornings. It gave me so many prayers for you. Hopefully, you are growing up hearing me read Proverbs aloud to you still, and hearing me pray for you.
More than anything in the world, I deeply desire for you to know and love the Lord. I yearn for you to have a genuine, personal relationship with Him, to call Jesus your Savior, to humbly serve and follow Him in each piece of your heart and each stage of your life.
The world, however, has something very different to say. Right now, I am twenty-three, and society tells me that I should chase after my dreams with wild abandon, paying no mind to responsibilities or adulthood. I can, I am told, worry about being an adult once I am thirty. For now I should just have fun and enjoy my youth. This, my dear boy, it complete nonsense.
By the time you are my age, the bar of adulthood may well have been raised to thirty-five or even forty, allowing immaturity to linger in the hearts of your peers indefinitely. Well, don't buy it. It's foolishness. I promise you this.
"My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God." -Proverbs 2: 1-5
Seek wisdom.
The Bible never says "Follow your heart!" Quite the contrary.
Yes, develop and utilize your abilities. Yes, work hard- in school, your career, and in ministry. Yes, have fun, too! But never at the expense of righteousness. If it is selfish, hurts another, breaks God's law, disregards self-control, or is excessively wasteful of resources, then it isn't worth it.
You are almost nine months old right now. When I lay you in bed at night and pray for you, I say, "Lord, everything about him we dedicate to You. All he is, is Yours." I deeply hope that you pray this for yourself one day.
Please use your abilities, talents, education, money, time, energy, relationships, opportunities, jobs, and dreams to glorify God above yourself.
Have fun. While you're having fun, be mindful of how you are representing the God of creation.
I'm not asking you to be an adult when you are nine. I will do my best to fiercely protect your childhood- to let you run, get dirty, climb trees, catch bugs and amphibians- and maybe, if you're really clever, small mammals. I will send you forth, barefoot, to build forts and wage war against invisible enemies lurking in the jungle of your imagination.
And while you are young and wild, I will begin teaching you the truth of God's Word. We will do our best, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to prepare you to become a man of God. More than anything, we will keep praying for you.
Because there will come a day when you will leave us. Over many years of slow and sometimes painful change, you will have grown up. Dad and I will teach you about the inerrant, powerful, sufficiency of Scripture. We'll teach you about budgeting and not drinking too much. We'll teach you about a lot of things.
But someday, it won't be up to us anymore. It will be up to you how you conduct yourself. And when that time comes, I pray you go forth in maturity, responsibility, and wisdom.
"For the Lord gives wisdom, from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course." -Proverbs 2:6-9
Be aware of the importance of how you use your youth. The world will tell you that your youth is important because now is your chance to live for yourself. The Bible will tell you that each day is important because each day is an opportunity to glorify God, just as you were created to.
Use the energy you have now to advocate truth, not your own desires. Use the freedom you have in your singleness to serve others, and use the stability you will have in marriage to raise a family on the foundation of Christ.
Don't believe the lie that success equals money, popularity, or accomplishments measured by diplomas or job titles. Success is obeying the Lord. For you, that may look very different that is does for Dad and I. So keep your relationship with Him at the forefront of your life at all times, and rely on Biblical wisdom in your decision making.
Be confident not in yourself, but in your God.
Don't fear adulthood. Don't fear change. Don't fear being different. Don't fear responsibility. Depend on the Holy Spirit in everything.
"For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things; from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness." -Proverbs 2:10-13
I love you more than I can say. The world is wrong. I did not grow up "too soon" when I became a wife at 21 and a mom at 22. Having a child has not ruined my social life and left me full of regrets. You, Judah, bring me more joy on a daily basis than any social event ever has. Raising you is already more fulfilling than any job ever was, no matter how passionate about my work I may have been.
The three greatest blessings in my life are salvation, your dad, and you. (Unless you have siblings by the time you're reading this- then you and they are tied for third.) Notice that no dream I have ever had made that list. Because my dreams, though there is nothing wrong with them, cannot compare to the life God has given me.
Don't follow your dreams. Follow your God.
Love,
Mama
June 19th, 2014
And I was about to try again, because I am sick and tired of the way my generation views adulthood, marriage, parenthood, careers, finances, and...well, just about everything. Our entitlement makes me sick. Our selfishness knows no bounds. I am embarrassed to tell people that I'm twenty-three, because of the immature, irresponsible, self-centered lifestyle that is so glorified and promoted by many people my age. I have spent the past ten years of my life trying to prove my birthdays wrong.
But what will another drop in the massive bucket that is the (ugh) "blogosphere" really do? Maybe a little. Maybe a lot. Honestly, with an unpopular viewpoint like mine, maybe nothing. And as I was despairing, God reminded me of something very important.
I was trying to type out a strong, unyielding argument as to why we should grow up already instead of partying like it's 1999 and wasting our time in the name of "finding ourselves." But I was interrupted by my son, who is almost nine months old, crawling to my desk, lifting his little hands to ask me to pick him up. I looked down at him, pulled him up into my lap, and hit the backspace button to delete the nonsense he immediately pounded out on my keyboard.
That's when I realized that you, miscellaneous internet audience, may not care what I have to say. Because, really, you don't have to listen to me at all.
With Judah, though, I have a very unique and God-given role. I have his attention, at least for a little while. I can share with him my own folly, my own desperate need for a Savior, my own need to humble myself to be used for the glory of God. And he will watch. He will notice. Children notice.
So this post, which I fully intended to be an advocation for responsibility to the world at large, has become a letter.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Judah,
While I was pregnant with you, I read a chapter from the book of Proverbs most mornings. It gave me so many prayers for you. Hopefully, you are growing up hearing me read Proverbs aloud to you still, and hearing me pray for you.
More than anything in the world, I deeply desire for you to know and love the Lord. I yearn for you to have a genuine, personal relationship with Him, to call Jesus your Savior, to humbly serve and follow Him in each piece of your heart and each stage of your life.
The world, however, has something very different to say. Right now, I am twenty-three, and society tells me that I should chase after my dreams with wild abandon, paying no mind to responsibilities or adulthood. I can, I am told, worry about being an adult once I am thirty. For now I should just have fun and enjoy my youth. This, my dear boy, it complete nonsense.
By the time you are my age, the bar of adulthood may well have been raised to thirty-five or even forty, allowing immaturity to linger in the hearts of your peers indefinitely. Well, don't buy it. It's foolishness. I promise you this.
"My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God." -Proverbs 2: 1-5
Seek wisdom.
The Bible never says "Follow your heart!" Quite the contrary.
Yes, develop and utilize your abilities. Yes, work hard- in school, your career, and in ministry. Yes, have fun, too! But never at the expense of righteousness. If it is selfish, hurts another, breaks God's law, disregards self-control, or is excessively wasteful of resources, then it isn't worth it.
You are almost nine months old right now. When I lay you in bed at night and pray for you, I say, "Lord, everything about him we dedicate to You. All he is, is Yours." I deeply hope that you pray this for yourself one day.
Please use your abilities, talents, education, money, time, energy, relationships, opportunities, jobs, and dreams to glorify God above yourself.
Have fun. While you're having fun, be mindful of how you are representing the God of creation.
I'm not asking you to be an adult when you are nine. I will do my best to fiercely protect your childhood- to let you run, get dirty, climb trees, catch bugs and amphibians- and maybe, if you're really clever, small mammals. I will send you forth, barefoot, to build forts and wage war against invisible enemies lurking in the jungle of your imagination.
And while you are young and wild, I will begin teaching you the truth of God's Word. We will do our best, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to prepare you to become a man of God. More than anything, we will keep praying for you.
Because there will come a day when you will leave us. Over many years of slow and sometimes painful change, you will have grown up. Dad and I will teach you about the inerrant, powerful, sufficiency of Scripture. We'll teach you about budgeting and not drinking too much. We'll teach you about a lot of things.
But someday, it won't be up to us anymore. It will be up to you how you conduct yourself. And when that time comes, I pray you go forth in maturity, responsibility, and wisdom.
"For the Lord gives wisdom, from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course." -Proverbs 2:6-9
Be aware of the importance of how you use your youth. The world will tell you that your youth is important because now is your chance to live for yourself. The Bible will tell you that each day is important because each day is an opportunity to glorify God, just as you were created to.
Use the energy you have now to advocate truth, not your own desires. Use the freedom you have in your singleness to serve others, and use the stability you will have in marriage to raise a family on the foundation of Christ.
Don't believe the lie that success equals money, popularity, or accomplishments measured by diplomas or job titles. Success is obeying the Lord. For you, that may look very different that is does for Dad and I. So keep your relationship with Him at the forefront of your life at all times, and rely on Biblical wisdom in your decision making.
Be confident not in yourself, but in your God.
Don't fear adulthood. Don't fear change. Don't fear being different. Don't fear responsibility. Depend on the Holy Spirit in everything.
"For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things; from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness." -Proverbs 2:10-13
I love you more than I can say. The world is wrong. I did not grow up "too soon" when I became a wife at 21 and a mom at 22. Having a child has not ruined my social life and left me full of regrets. You, Judah, bring me more joy on a daily basis than any social event ever has. Raising you is already more fulfilling than any job ever was, no matter how passionate about my work I may have been.
The three greatest blessings in my life are salvation, your dad, and you. (Unless you have siblings by the time you're reading this- then you and they are tied for third.) Notice that no dream I have ever had made that list. Because my dreams, though there is nothing wrong with them, cannot compare to the life God has given me.
Don't follow your dreams. Follow your God.
Love,
Mama
June 19th, 2014
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