Squeal blew her first bubble gum bubble today! Her face registered shock, surprise, and excitement when she ran over to me, chin jutting out, and proudly displayed the big pink bubble she'd created. She must've had the same piece of bubble gum in her mouth for at least four hours, trying to perfect her bubble-blowing technique, but she was so proud of her achievement. We were excited for her. Such a small thing, but very important to a five-year-old.

It brings to mind a lot of important 'firsts' for children that, while not important to gaining immediate independence or enhancing their education, are still very significant in the eyes of the child. I remember how pleased I was when I learned to whistle, though I'm still not very good at it. Being able to finally ride my bright, blue Huffy bicycle all by myself was a huge milestone not just for me, but for my parents. Cooking an entire meal for them and my brothers with no one else's help gave me a great sense of accomplishment.

I wonder what God sees in my spiritual life as small accomplishments and important milestones. Does it make Him smile when we have one of those "aha" moments while we're reading the bible or as we sit in church listening to a sermon, when we begin to long for the pure milk of the word? (1Peter 2:1-3) Is He proud of us when we hit the same bump in the road yet again, but are finally able to stay a true course on our "bicycle" instead of crashing and skinning our knees?

There's a difference between learning things in our earthly childhood and learning things in our spiritual childhood, though. The great accomplishment in earthly things comes from being able to do them on our own, apart from any other person. But in our Christian walk, our greatest achievements are realized when we learn to depend more and more on Christ. (John 15:5)

It's as amazing to watch my grandchildren grasp things in their minds and make them their own as it was to watch my children. But for them all, my greatest joys are in seeing them grasp biblical truths and live them out in their lives by faith.

"The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way." Psalm 37:23

posted by Joye @ 10:54 AM

2 Comments:

At 8/01/2006 1:07 PM, Lindsay said…

I forgot to ask: did you get a picture of the bubble?
I guess being a mother it is hard to see those little milestones. I see them everyday, so I just don't appreciate them like I should. Maybe it's a grandmother's gift to really see those things. I am going to try harder.
At 8/01/2006 1:17 PM, Joye said…

NO, or I would’ve posted it. I so regret no getting that first bubble! Even a mom with only 2 kids tends to skim past those kind of things, says I the Skimmer. I don’t think our brains are big enough to catch and hold everything our kids do and say. Even as multi-taskers we have too many tasks going on. Isn't it great that we have such a cool heavenly father who notices every tiny thing about us and has done since oh, wayyyy before it happened?