Growing Up

One of the hardest things about hanging out with family and old friends is that they have known you for a long time.  That means that they have seen you at your worst.  Childhood screw ups are never forgotten.  I am so glad I didn't have to live through puberty in an age where these things are posted somewhere on the internet, but I still have brothers who remember me when...I don't really want to talk about that. They still do, but hey, they are my brothers so I deal with it. 

Am I saying I only want to display what is perfect?  No, I mean, why would I blog my struggles if I only wanted everyone to think that I'm perfect? 

Here's the thing that I would like to assume about everyone who has known me for a really long time: you have grown since then.  Why?  Because guess what? I have grown. I'm not the same as the kid who bit her brothers growing up.  I'm not he same kid who put on an innocent look and lied to get her brothers in trouble.  I'm not even the same as the angry, stuck up girl I was in high school.  I've grown.  The Holy Spirit had a lot of work to do with me, for sure, but He's really good at His job.

Okay, I've put a lot of this on my brothers, but really, I'm reminded of this topic because of my grandmother.  She's 90 years old and she can't remember that I'm in my 30's, not 13.  I don't blame her.  Life seems to go by in the blink of an eye when it comes to my kids.  It gets real when my daughter starts borrowing my shoes.

The thing that we all need to remember as we watch others grow up and grow old is that they can actually learn from the things that they did that were wrong.  For my kids, if I look, I can see where the Holy Spirit is working in them.  I assume that they are growing and I have to allow them to do so.  Sure, as a mom, I remind them of what the Bible says as I am working with them on their character, but I can't assume that they are still going to be whining when they are 30.  I have to assume that eventually they will either learn by my teaching, the Holy Spirit's guidance, or at the very least through experience. 

I guess I'm just saying, as a person with a bit of a pet peeve, please allow room for growth in old friends and family.  You never know, they may be awesome people that you want to hang out with now.