When I Grow Up

Over Christmas Granddaughter-Hannah (19) and Grandson-Zak (21) talked about ‘adulting’… paying bills, being independent, getting life organised, taking responsibility…

Yesterday I was reminded of the song ‘When I grow up’… from ‘Matilda’… sung by children on swings… about what they can’t do now but will be able to do when they’re older… It’s about adulting.

It’s about hopes and dreams… ’I will eat sweets every day…  go to bed late every night… watch cartoons until my eyes go square.’ Even when we’ve grown up we have hopes and dreams about our finances, health, achievements, relationships…

It’s about wisdom… ‘I will be smart enough to answer all the questions that you need to know…’ Zak and Hannah still come to their parents for advice… Perhaps we all need an adult who’s better at adulting than we are…

It’s about strength… ‘I will be strong enough to carry all the heavy things you have to haul around with you…’ Growing up isn’t an event it’s a process. We gradually become stronger – physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually – to carry our responsibilities, challenges, burdens…

It’s about courage… ‘I will be brave enough to fight the creatures that you have to fight beneath the bed each night…’ The teacher sings this verse… Being grown up is about facing up to and confronting our fears.

It’s like the Wizard of Oz – the Lion wants courage, the Tin Man wants a heart, and the Scarecrow wants a brain… They discover that the Lion is the bravest, the Scarecrow is wisest and the Tin Man is most compassionate… they’ve grown up!

This morning, reading the story of Jacob… He’s selfish, self-centred; his name means ‘heal-grabber’ – someone who’s deceitful. Then he meets and wrestles with his God. He becomes weak and vulnerable. He’s given a new name ‘Israel’ meaning ‘God-wrestler’. He grows up.

Perhaps somewhere in this adulting world of reaching out for our hopes and dreams, with strength, wisdom and courage there is something about weakness and vulnerability that comes through God-wrestling.