Watching children emerge into a new stage of life is enjoyable, fascinating, challenging, and energizing all at the same time, especially if it is one of your own. Whitney is discovering her own identity in ways that continue to surprise everyone but herself.
This weekend is a prime example. In addition to the normal push back to sibling domination, Whitney has found her love for mountain biking and working with tools. The biking I could anticipate; she enjoys thrill rides, like taking on the unknown, and is eager to explore. The tools caught everyone by surprise. First, it was the tool belt – adjusted for her size, filled to the brim with important necessities including a tape measure, hammer, screwdriver, and appropriate screws. Next came the hands on drilling and precision response in handing the next tool. The capper came when she single handedly cut down a 5-inch sapling using a sawzall with a 12-inch blade. Her care and excitement captured her understanding that this was her new identity!
Life is full of cocoons if we take the time to look and discover. Some changes are good; others we wish we could have avoided. Too often, we do not take the time to reflect and understand just what has, is, and will happen. Take God for instance. What happens when we pursue knowing who God is and what our relationship with him might mean?
Commitment and pursuit to God comes in stages and cycles. Some stages are public and ritual; others occur frequently. The giving up of self and accepting what God offers is an example of a something that needs to be very repetitive. The process occurs like this; “When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we’re going in our new grace-sovereign country.” (Romans 6.6,7)
God cocoons are fun to watch, even better to experience.
