Seeing God's Plan For Us As We Grow Up
With my birthday coming up so soon, the only thing on my mind was growing up. As a kid, I remembered thinking about turning 21; and I remembered what I had imagined it would feel like. My childhood imagination was no match for today’s reality. I laugh at myself now for what I had perceived it would be like. I told myself I wanted to get married at 21 … that’s funny how that turned out. When picturing the older version of me, I imagined a woman completely unlike myself. I thought I would be perfectly beautiful and confident and be able to do whatever I wanted. And even though I find myself to be lacking in my childhood vision, time has given me a wealth of other gifts that I didn’t value when I was younger: being grounded in my faith, my growing education and my desire to be a “day-maker” to everyone I meet.
And looking back it seems like time has gone by so quickly. As if almost yesterday we were lining up for recess and scrambling to catch the bus. So much has changed, and it is sometimes hard to remember the children we used to be with our sticky hands and dirty faces. Life seemed so easy back then. At times we want to trade in the anguish and responsibility that comes with growing up, and replace them with the innocence and ignorance of being a child. But there is no point in hoping for that because our lives are meant for more than these fleeting wishes.
As I move on, a year older, I want my life to be different. It’s never too late to change our lives. I don’t want to be like so many who wake up one day with their lives more than half completed and wonder where all the time went. I don’t want to be lazy; I don’t want to have my face glued to my phone for the rest of my life; I don’t want to waste any more of my precious time. I don’t want to be selfish any more, and I don’t ever want to settle. It’s time to get out there, achieve greatness and do something amazing with my life.
More and more I realize how short life is. Time is precious. So don’t waste your time and spend it on trivial things that will pass away. Each one of us has only one chance to make our everlasting handprint on this world before we become dust. Enjoy every moment. Live life abundantly and passionately.
Like Catherine of Sienna once said, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” When we live our lives to our fullest potential, we become an unstoppable force that can change the world. We can change hearts and bring them to Christ. But like E. E. Cummings said, “It takes true courage to grow up and become who you really are.” It’s one thing to grow older, and another to have personal growth of the heart and mind. If we wish to change the world, we must start within our own lives. It’s a process , and it will take time; but slowly we can grow into the unique daughter or son of God that we are called to be. Let us start this change today before it is too late. Time is so precious. In time, we can develop gifts we never believed we could have.
Our lives may not be what we imagined they would be when we are young, but it is still a precious life each one of us has. This is not the life I had expected. But it is the life I will embrace, with open arms and an open heart, each day looking to Christ for the guidance to live a life that will change the hearts of others.
