Time

     It's odd. When we are younger, we look at the lives of older siblings, parents, and older kids at school. We're all dreaming of being older. We make plans about what we'll do "when we grow up" and how long it'll take us to reach those goals. For example, growing up I always said I'd get married and have kids; and do this by the time I was 30 years old. 

     But when we get older, something in life happens and we all now wish we could be younger again! Wanting to swap our hectic days for the laid back summers of kids, our worries and sorrows of grown-up life for the worries and sorrows of a kid during recess. From a big problem of "if Susie Q likes Billy Joe , then I can't!" to the big problem of "what am I going to feed the kids if there's no money for groceries and no food in the house?" 

     Working in retail and volunteering in youth programs, I can't count how many times I've heard children make plans and wistfully describe their perfect grown-up dream life. All the while, I was wistfully pleading with them silently to just stay young! I wish to tell the youth that although it seems like it will be "forever" until you're old enough to drive, buy a house, vacation from work, etc., it is far longer that you will be wishing you were young again. I remember wanting to be older until I was roughly a teenager in middle or high school. Since then (until the day i die), I will be wishing for my kid days again! So roughly 13-14 years of wanting to grow up vs. roughly 81 years of wanting to be younger. 

     Don't get me wrong here, there are some MAJOR bonuses to being older. For instance, I DO get to have a family, a home, and enjoy the freedom from owning a car (and not having a curfew). I would hate to imagine what an adult life would be like without the perks; If all adulthood offered was the stress from work, money, and life. I can imagine that if that were reality, humans would only have a lifespan to 40 years or less. 

     Overall, I feel like many adults (myself included) spend too much time dwelling in the "wishing for childhood back" stage and not actually moving forward and doing something about it. I'm slowly working on changing that for myself. I've been doing more bike riding lately. It's something I loved doing as a kid. I seemed to ride my bike everywhere in the summer. Or just went for leisurely rides to feel the wind whip my hair behind me and show off that I could ride hands-free. 

     But that's not enough for me. I want to do more painting, drawing, fishing, playing. 

     The question is, will you play with me? Will you start setting aside your adulthood a little to revert back to your childhood? Will you stop wistfully dreaming of "what you used to do" and make it a reality again? 

Matthew 18:3  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."