Well, we finally have our tomato plants in their pots, and little Miss Maggie is hoping that we'll have a bumper crop! I can't imagine why this is so important to her! She doesn't really like tomatoes, but this may be the year that her taste buds come alive and surprise her with the many things that taste good, after all. As far as our children go, it's funny to watch how their personal tastes develop. When Matthew was little, he went from fresh juice and barley green to yogurt to grits and eggs. He stayed there a while and then moved on to chicken and broccoli. He left that and headed towards asparagus and stir-fried veggies. He is currently loving anything that has a hint of exotic or foreign spice. Miss Maggie's taste buds went from grits and eggs to chicken to broccoli. She then went through a phase where she only loved hot dogs. This was difficult for me because I think they are scary, so I had to go organic and vegetarian on her (she still doesn't know). The few things that I know will always be enjoyed by her are rice, miso soup with tofu and seaweed. Well, a more Japanese child rarely exists.
Once, we were watching some sort of fast food expose' on TV, and the guy talking was giving us the run down on hot dogs. He said that a diet of hot dogs on a white bread bun would kill you. Maggie turned to me and said, "And that is exactly why I don't eat the bun!" I'm laughing now just remembering it! But as she grows, her taste buds are becoming more and more sophisticated. They ask for more vegetables and different fruits, and they want special birthday meals like grilled salmon with roasted asparagus and a spinach salad. I'm so surprised when I think of how they started out! There was a time when I thought chicken nuggets would be the end of us!
My life has been in the church completely. My parents are pastors, as were my grandparents. Our childhoods were spent within the walls of a church. And in all of my experiences, I have seen every sort of person come to Christ, and I have witnessed the process of maturation from any number of angles. What I have learned is that people do grow up. Some grow more quickly than others, and some take their time chewing on the "baby food" of the Spirit. Sometimes we just want to shake somebody and say, "Enough, already! Grow up!" But then I stop and remember the patience that God has had with me and my own maturation.
We aren't meant to drink milk forever. In fact, the goal is to be able to sit down to the table with God and chew on a sophisticated feast, but it takes some time. When we pray for the people around us, we should realize that everyone is on a different level of maturation. I would never expect my 9 year old to behave in the same fashion as my 14 year old. I have different expectations of each of them because they are in different places in their growth.
I often pray for people who are self-centered and problematic, thinking that one good zap from the Spirit could fix them right up, forgetting that this is a process. 1 Peter 2:2-3 says, "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." But just like our babies grow and their tastes and abilities expand, so does the life of one who has come to Christ. There is a time for the selfish ways of infancy, but this is not where we are to stay. We are to continue to grow in the Lord and get to a place where we can find food, eat it and share it with others.
I hope that Maggie's tomatoes produce plenty this summer. I would like to make salsa. And I hope that she learns to love a BLT, but we'll see! I'm just so happy that the days of chicken nuggets are gone.
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