Once we fall out of love with the idea we have to be self-sufficient to be grown-up, we begin to depend on and trust our partnership with God. And the beauty of this is, whatever childlike characteristics we lost along the way to being a stoic, respectable grown-up, start coming back to us. Let me explain.
God is not just capable, She’s BIG. When we begin to see the scope of Her work, we start to relax. She’s got big pockets She pulls things out of to delight and surprise us. She’s got a big, pillowy bosom we can curl into when we’re hurt or scared. Her bigness is like a giant bubble gum bubble blown all around us, creating a great, pink shell of space for us to create and play and love and enjoy. It frees us from over-arching responsibility and lets us focus on our one, small part.
Do you see how protective She is of us? That means we’re safe and when we realize we are safe, like kids with watchful parents, we find ourselves free. Our worry wrinkles disappear. Our shoulders relax down our back. We stop thinking so HARD. We stop rushing so fast. And like a memory that’s tickled back to life, we find our curiosity again. We trip over our wonder. We find hope and simple joy again, not requiring all the answers to everything first. We are startled by our bright imagination and catch ourselves being silly. All the things we thought we had to put away, God says are ours forever. Be like children. *
God is everywhere, tracking everything, so we don’t have to.
This sets us free to skip and tumble through life with none of the weight She’s promised to carry.
Part of the reason the grown-up act is so soul crushing is pretending to be “cool.” In our efforts to be distinguished, we can’t do anything risky. We can’t do anything poorly. We can’t try anything or explore new places because if it doesn’t go well, we’ll look foolish. But God says we are already valuable and worthy, so we can push through the world in an imperfect, curious manner because none of that is on the line.
We need help.
God is capable.
We are free to explore.
