Oh, Grow Up!

I was minding my own business and typing away on my laptop when I noticed something out of my peripheral vision. Something large was moving across my back yard. SURPRISE, SURPRISE, I turned around to discover a red-headed cow loitering on my property. It was bizarre, the red-head and her clown suit.

If you know my BFF, you’re probably ahead of me. But yes, it was Red, and she was strolling across my back yard wearing a cow outfit and acting for all the world like it was the most normal thing a middle-aged woman could be doing in the middle of a beautiful fall day. I grabbed my phone and documented the moment with video footage and a weak joke about how “udderly” ridiculous she was. I love a good corny pun.

To be fair, why Red had a cow outfit in her possession isn’t that strange, even if meandering through my back yard in it was, but I’m going to skip over the backstory to move this along. Bottom line—Red knew we’d both get a good laugh out of it, and we do so enjoy a good laugh.  There’s also the maturity thing. Red and I haven’t grown up. Nor do we plan to any time soon, which brings me to a more serious takeaway from today’s story.

It’s okay to be young at heart, but as believers, you and I are supposed to be growing up, and it should be obvious to all that we are maturing in our love for God and each other. Ephesians 4:15 reads, “…speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ.”

As a follower of Christ, I shouldn’t be the same person day in, day out, year in, year out, stagnant in spirit and devoid of growth, and neither should you. Growth isn’t about bearing down and forcing maturity either. That fails every time. Just spend time with Jesus, y’all. He’s like Miracle Grow. You’ll be transformed and ever growing, and the first person surprised by the change will be the one doing the changing.