Feeling it

Well, it was my birthday the other day, and as always it gets me thinking.

I remember growing up my family would always ask me "Do you feel any older?". My response was typically no and possibly rolling my eyes. But as I get older the answer tends to be yes. My body feels older. My skin is changing, I'm getting aches and pains, little lines that used to disappear now hold their form a bit more. I'm almost to the point of having to admit, yes, I am a grown up. And I'm not sure how I feel about that.

I have always felt older than I am but that's not to say that I have always made the best choices. In fact most of my teenage years were spent in rebellion to that growing up. I did things I shouldn't have, had friends that were not always the best for me, and got into as much trouble as I could without in fact garnering a rap sheet.

So, as I get older and I begin to see more and more of myself in my daughter I can't help but wonder... what have I done?! Is she destined to follow in my footsteps and make the same mistakes I did? Or does having a Christ centered family give her an advantage I didn't have? I know full well that following Jesus does not make me immune to the effects of the world, nor will it protect my family from outside circumstances, but it does give us something to hold on to. As a kid, when things went wrong, I felt like my life was falling apart. I didn't understand that God had a plan for me. I didn't know that He would love me no matter what hair brained scheme or potentially life threatening situation I got myself in to.

My prayer is that since Lilly is being raised in that faith, she will be stronger because of Christ in her. It will still be a bumpy road, with ups and downs, but my prayer is that we can make it together as a family, with God at the head.