Volume 150: Rest in Kid Again

Road trip!

Down I-16 in route to Saint Simons Island - a very familiar route! One I did at least once a year growing up.

The exit at Statesboro, where my brother went to college.
The split at Savannah.
The bridge to the island.
The trees with moss.
The village in sight.

Seeing all these sights out of my back seat left window. Feeling like a kid again.

Parents in the front with me, the kid, scrolling on my phone and playing Mario Kart, to help time pass by. Checking the maps app to avoid asking the important question, "are we there yet???"

There was great nostalgia and comfort in this moment. Of being a true kid again.

It hit me - I'm really still always a kid. No matter how old I am getting or try to act like, I'm a kid.

Dependent on others. Moody. Cared for. Desiring a sense of protection.

Earlier this month, we read Matthew 19:14 "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

In one of my favorite holidays to initiate in our Bible reading group every year, our group message filled with photos of camp kids that bring us joy.

Kids that are adorable.
And make us laugh.
And are weird in the best kind of way.
And make the wildest, out of context comments.
And who dance and sing and play.

I often reflect on the beauty of child-like joy and how refreshing it is. But as I sat in the back seat of the car on the way to the beach, I thought more about what it really means to be a child.

To constantly be learning and navigating new obstacles in a safe environment.
To have all your needs met for you, with doing nothing to earn it.
To not have to worry about the future or anything other than what is right in front of you.
To have a schedule centered around rest.

And while this broken world keeps us from being able to enjoy these things throughout our whole life, as Christians, we are still offered this sense of being a child.

Because we are adopted daughters of the Most High!

It's a beautiful thing to remain a kid - imagination and confident security and lack of fear or worry and play and joy and child-like faith.

And to have a perfect Father who is with us and will never forsake us and loves us unconditionally. A Father who is present as we learn, meets our needs, removes our worries, and gives us rest.

At the beach, Teagan, Blakely and I stood at the shore, jumping over the East Coast's finest small crashing waves.

Blake was confident and fully capable of navigating the balancing act it takes while one wave is coming in as the most recent one is retracting back into the ocean.

Teagan, on my other side, was more timid, keeping her hand raised just enough where she could grab mine if needed. She eventually got to a point where she could anticipate whether the wave would be manageable or not and if she needed to grab my hand.

Until one wave came in fast and knocked her down... She looked up at me, with this look of betrayal, and stated, "you're supposed to hold me!!!"

What?? This is now my fault?? I was innocent!! She's the one that was choosing whether or not to jump on her own, letting go of my hand!

So I ignored her accusation and helped her up and we continued on...

In her mind, as a child, she is used to being supported, to being cared for, to not have to worry for herself.

Now, while I am farrrrr from being God, I saw myself in Teagan's shoes... I had never left her side. When she fell, she had the same hand to grab a hold of that she had for all the previous waves she had successfully jumped over.

But sometimes, as we take on this life on our own, we will fall down. We will face the "waves." But God is always standing right next to us, offering us His mighty hand to help us back up when we fall. He holds us and never lets us go!

As I was thinking about this concept throughout the week, it just so happened to also be the focus of the week's reading in the Colsons Fellows Program.

Scripture to read:

Galatians 4:4-7 "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."

- The Spirit calls out "Abba! Father!" not "Lord," "Savior," "God," or "King," but "Father."

Romans 8:15-17 "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified."

- Why is being God's children and heirs and important part of our redemption?

1 John 3:1-3 "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is."

Songs to listen to:

Children of God by Journey Worship Co.

Kid Again by Dante Brown