How often have you heard of teens saying "I will never do that when I'm a parent!" Or just two days ago my sister Lisa and I were commenting on looking down at our hands and seeing not our own, but our grandmothers; wrinkles and liver spots included. We were never going to age!
How interesting that we want to be who we aren't. We might want to reject our family, their values, their faith, or their leading by example as we age into our adult years. It's bits and pieces we reject, not the whole package. Growing up we think I am never going to get mad, be impatient, think mean thoughts, have an addiction, or stop learning. Sometimes we 'accidentally' learn something when we want just the opposite; we know exactly what we need and it IS NOT what we just learned! Sometimes we rebel and refuse to learn something even though we know it's useful or would enhance an interest.
What we make of our lives, the life we have grown into, is ours to celebrate. I just read a sentence in a housing book that said "Sometimes the best way to make a bold statement is to whisper because everyone will quiet down to hear what you have to say". Isn't that a fabulous strategy? A whispering campaign? I guess that's what my churches mission statement means…. Be Jesus Christ to the World. Go out there and be the best person you can be and don't be looking for accolades in the process. Whisper.
The art of connection in my life is not a focus on what I don't want to learn or who I don't want to emulate, but rather who I do want to be from the inside out. A silly example- I wanted to avoid learning how to drive the tractor because then I would have to do more work. I 'avoided' it for a good 12 years.
Perhaps as we age we are meant to change 'I am never going to…." to a bolder yet less vocal act of thinking about others, changing 'it's not all about me' to how they feel, what they need, how you can encourage them, how you can care. It's a constant struggle, but I'm working on it.