The City that Touches the Sky: Growing Up

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ~1 Corinthians 13:11

“So third grade, how old do you think I am?”

This question was met with lots of giggles on the morning of my birthday.

As I passed out sticky notes in response, their furrowed brows studied and measured me. Some of them started whispering to their neighbor. Others tapped their pencils on their chins.

After about a minute, I collected the responses. The answers ranged from 21 to 44, with most piling up in the mid-30s.

I love asking this question. I suppose it’s because I love seeing myself through the eyes of my students. I’m also extremely curious to know what my third grade self understood about being “grown up.”

Third grade was the year I started keeping a consistent journal, the year I figured out who my best friends were, the year I decided to grow out those little girl bangs. It was also the year I started smiling with my mouth closed, because I was embarrassed of my teeth. And I wonder, where did 9-year-old Holly think she would be at this point? And even more importantly, who did she think she would become?

Third grade Holly had 3 grown-up aspirations.

1. She wanted to be a writer.

2. She wanted to be an artist.

3. She wanted to be a mom.

And here I am. 24 years old. In the words of my sweet mother, “That’s old, Holly.”

I suppose she’s right. (Of course, being “old” comes with the territory when you’re a first born.) It’s been fifteen years since I made those goals. Fifteen years of jumping through hoops and passing tests. Fifteen years of shaping and molding.

In a nutshell, Paul said, "Grow up." He taught that becoming a man or woman of faith means giving up childish ways. Substituting ignorance for wisdom, extending forgiveness, taking responsibility for your actions. And I'm with you, Paul.

But what I’ve figured out is that in spite of heartache and loss and disappointment that come with growing up, there are some dreams that just won’t die. There are parts of yourself that weren’t meant to fade away with age, because they were in the design all along. God counted them as precious and worthy of sustaining, no matter how many times you drew an angry X through them.

Growing up means becoming a truer version of the person you were designed to be. It means accepting every patch of your quilt, even the ugly parts, and seeing a beautiful pattern. Sometimes, we want to scrap the whole thing and start over. But our stories are worth more than that, and He wants to keep on showing us His intentional stitches of love.

I’m no “self-made woman.” I’m His workmanship, crafted according to a blueprint. And really, there’s no better place to keep “growing up” than in a classroom of third grade poets, architects, scientists, artists, soccer stars, and archaeologists. Let the dreaming begin with His design.

24-year-old Holly is living out her 3 grown-up aspirations. And for now, they're wrapped up and satisfied in the noble title "teacher."

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First up, some Valentine's Day fun! We had a great time celebrating with our friends. We even had a Chapel lesson on love - the story of Isaac and Rebekah.