Faith got her braces off yesterday. My baby girl. She's endured three years of orthodontic torture, wearing every possible apparatus they could throw at her, at times looking much like a human cell tower. Her doctor gave me a before/after photo, but the intended effect didn't quite happen. We moved two years and four months into her treatment, and therefore; the orthodontist has only treated her here for 8 months. The photo only showed what she looked like 8 months ago and then what she looked like on the day of disbanding. I could see that her jaw was more pronounced, and there was a difference there. But the biggest glaring difference to me was the age progression in only 8 months! She'll be 13 in only three weeks, and I realized that day...all too well...that she's growing up. Stop! My mind screamed. Stop the clock! Stop the calendar! I haven't had enough time! Apart from ensuring her orthodontic success, how else have I succeeded?
Colossians 1 came to mind. At the time of his writing, Paul had not yet visited Colosse, but he was visited in prison by its missionary, Epaphras, who originally took the gospel there. Paul is encouraging the believers in this letter by expressing his heart about them growing in their knowledge and grace of God.
- He prays for them. How could Paul pray for people he never met? Wouldn't that be difficult to know how to pray? Not at all. When we pray for other believers, even those who aren't believers, it's easy to pray for God's will for them. We know that God's will is that we would all come to a saving knowledge of Him.
- He encourages them to live a holy life. Living a life "worthy of the Lord" means living to His standard and precepts. We can be encouraging to others and not demeaning to them when we share God's word! It's not a rule book meant to be seen negatively. It's written to give us hope and encouragement by telling us we can do it!
- He acknowledges that living a life pleasing to the Lord can be difficult at times. Verse 11 directly speaks of endurance in this life. We can complete this life victorious over sin because we have Him in us
From the time we knew I was expecting Faith, Heath and I would stand over her bed (then empty) and pray for her. We would pray that she would come to know Him at an early age (and she did). We prayed for a kind heart, and we prayed for a spirit bent toward doing His will. And she has all of those. I have done so many things wrong in the years I've raised her. I've neglected so many things that should've been said/done, and I've over-done some things when I should've taken a step back and let her fly. But I've completed verse 9.
Time keeps marching on, and she's still growing up. But that's exactly the way it should be. She's growing, maturing, and best of all, she's growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus.
How about you? Are you growing? Are you living a life worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him in every way?
He can equip you and give you strength for the day, helping you to endure. Ask Him. He is faithful.
