This is a guest post written by my wife, Amanda, about a month and a half ago. I thought it was lovely and resonated with me. I hope you think the same. -Matt
There’s a lot of things that I’ve noticed about the human experience since I’ve had a baby. My son is now 9 months old, and as curious and mobile as any parent would love or dread, depending on how you look at it. He just started “crawling” about a month ago, moving across the floor as if he were preparing for battle. Then he discovered quickly that using his knees can help him go quicker as his belly dragging across the floor causes unnecessary friction.
Then his independence really started to bloom. He could go where he wanted! He could grab what he wanted! He could play with what he wanted! He was no longer satisfied with just sitting on your lap. He wanted down. He wanted freedom. Then one day he started looking at the stairs. He would touch that first step then look up and bang his hand on it as if it were a drum. So I did it, I not only encouraged him, I moved his little legs and knees and showed him how to climb those steps.
It only took a couple more runs and a couple days later and he was suddenly starting to climb them without us right behind him ready to catch him if he fell. (Oh, certainly one of us was there within seconds to back him up if he needed it.) Now it’s only been a week or so and he’s climbing like a little pro.
As soon as he discovered he could use his legs to push his weight up the stairs, simultaneously he stared experimenting with the strength of his arms and the wide grip of his hands. If something was just out of reach, he would try to pull his weight up to get himself higher to reach that desired object. Then he quickly realized that if he maneuvered his legs just so, he could pull himself to a stand in a cinch. Oh, it took some practice, frustration, and tears of course, but within a week he mastered pulling himself up to stand. Now any couch, chair, or low table is conquerable.
These things that my son learned in just a month’s time are all he wants to do now. He crawls everywhere, if he sees stairs he wants to climb them, and if he wants to say hello to the dog, he’ll pull himself up on the furniture to do so. He can move anywhere and do what he wants now. He has become so much more independent and his instincts are calling him to keep growing that independence.
Seeing him grow and learn is so exciting, but a part of me still wants him to just be content in my arms as I just hold him and kiss him. But thinking about all of this, I can’t help thinking about how as Christians growing in our faith, we shouldn’t become more independent individuals but more dependent as we grow in Him.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.” – John 6:47-50
The Word should be everything we eat and breathe. It should, as we grow in our relationship with Him, be not only everything we need, but the only thing we desire. Just like a newborn baby suckling at his mother’s breast, we should desire to be with God with that kind of dependence. He wants to fill every single one of our needs, and instead of pulling away from him and trying to live this hard life on our own, we should pull closer and let Him take care of our every need.
“I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him. He alone protects and saves me; he is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; he is my strong protector; he is my shelter. Trust in God at all times, my people. Tell him all your troubles, for he is our refuge.” – Psalm 62:5-8
As you learn and grow in your faith, don’t be like my son, Caleb, whose instinct is to pull away and be more independent as he grows. Do the opposite. Pull closer to God and put your complete self in his very capable hands. We should be like infants, helpless, but safe and reliant on his strong arms.
dependdependentGodgrowJohnlearnPsalm
Dependence
July 18, 2013
Calvary
Comments Off on Dependence
Amanda
This is a guest post written by my wife, Amanda, about a month and a half ago. I thought it was lovely and resonated with me. I hope you think the same. -Matt
There’s a lot of things that I’ve noticed about the human experience since I’ve had a baby. My son is now 9 months old, and as curious and mobile as any parent would love or dread, depending on how you look at it. He just started “crawling” about a month ago, moving across the floor as if he were preparing for battle. Then he discovered quickly that using his knees can help him go quicker as his belly dragging across the floor causes unnecessary friction.
Then his independence really started to bloom. He could go where he wanted! He could grab what he wanted! He could play with what he wanted! He was no longer satisfied with just sitting on your lap. He wanted down. He wanted freedom. Then one day he started looking at the stairs. He would touch that first step then look up and bang his hand on it as if it were a drum. So I did it, I not only encouraged him, I moved his little legs and knees and showed him how to climb those steps.
It only took a couple more runs and a couple days later and he was suddenly starting to climb them without us right behind him ready to catch him if he fell. (Oh, certainly one of us was there within seconds to back him up if he needed it.) Now it’s only been a week or so and he’s climbing like a little pro.
As soon as he discovered he could use his legs to push his weight up the stairs, simultaneously he stared experimenting with the strength of his arms and the wide grip of his hands. If something was just out of reach, he would try to pull his weight up to get himself higher to reach that desired object. Then he quickly realized that if he maneuvered his legs just so, he could pull himself to a stand in a cinch. Oh, it took some practice, frustration, and tears of course, but within a week he mastered pulling himself up to stand. Now any couch, chair, or low table is conquerable.
These things that my son learned in just a month’s time are all he wants to do now. He crawls everywhere, if he sees stairs he wants to climb them, and if he wants to say hello to the dog, he’ll pull himself up on the furniture to do so. He can move anywhere and do what he wants now. He has become so much more independent and his instincts are calling him to keep growing that independence.
Seeing him grow and learn is so exciting, but a part of me still wants him to just be content in my arms as I just hold him and kiss him. But thinking about all of this, I can’t help thinking about how as Christians growing in our faith, we shouldn’t become more independent individuals but more dependent as we grow in Him.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.” – John 6:47-50
The Word should be everything we eat and breathe. It should, as we grow in our relationship with Him, be not only everything we need, but the only thing we desire. Just like a newborn baby suckling at his mother’s breast, we should desire to be with God with that kind of dependence. He wants to fill every single one of our needs, and instead of pulling away from him and trying to live this hard life on our own, we should pull closer and let Him take care of our every need.
“I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him. He alone protects and saves me; he is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; he is my strong protector; he is my shelter. Trust in God at all times, my people. Tell him all your troubles, for he is our refuge.” – Psalm 62:5-8
As you learn and grow in your faith, don’t be like my son, Caleb, whose instinct is to pull away and be more independent as he grows. Do the opposite. Pull closer to God and put your complete self in his very capable hands. We should be like infants, helpless, but safe and reliant on his strong arms.
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