Celebrate Your Season

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven"

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Have you ever wanted to appear older? Have you ever wanted to look younger? 

My niece is at the wise age of 4. Her fondest desires are to marry the prince (her daddy), wear high heels, look like her mommy, and work with her parents on a laptop. This little dear one is so enamored with growing up to be a big girl. Her desires show the love of dreaming -- a beautiful quality, but one that can easily spawn discontentment. In her little girl heart, she observes how "magical" big girls appear and wants to be like them.

So do we ever grow out of this, or are we forever the little girl clacking around in our mother's shoes, sneaking the reddest lipstick we can find onto our little clown made-up faces?

Observe just about any woman or girl and she will show you that she is not fully content with her age and appearance. When we are young, we race to be and seem older; when we are old, we take many measures (sometimes even drastic ones) to look young.

Twisted? Maybe. I think this is just our lack of recognizing and embracing our different seasons of life!

I enjoy wearing necklaces, the colorful type. Since I'm in my very early 20's, I can fully delight in wearing my favorite jewelry with no worries about little fingers and mouths thinking it is a snack (unless I'm helping friends with their little ones or my sister brings my nieces and nephew home). Someday if the Lord blesses me with children, I will most likely have to place my jewelry away due to the time of life I've entered -- motherhood. Yet both seasons have their pleasures and neither should be despised!

It's amazing how many mothers and daughters argue about makeup! There is nothing wrong with the desire to become a woman. As young ladies, though, it's our job to honor our mothers and trust that their judgment will guide us according to what is best! We should remember that no matter how much makeup, hair styling, or squeezing into clothing we do to "become a woman," if we do not grow the heart of a mature godly woman, we will never be able to mask our hearts of immature childishness. 

If I could encourage every woman, I would tell them this: being age-appropriate is essential to being modest. It's not okay for a 10-year-old to dress as a 16-year-old; it's not okay for a  16-year-old to dress like she's 45, and vice-versa. Grow a mature heart in the Lord and celebrate the age you are today! If you pine it away, it will never be returned to you! 

"For everything there is a season!"