“Their big fat heads are going to kill their skinny minny legs, they shouldn’t oughtta’ve grown so fast”  These dandy words of wisdom were uttered by the kindergartner  today.  His thinking and reasoning skills come from his intellectual giant of a father, his butchering of the Kings English comes from his red-neck mother.  But he is right, they are indeed going to meet their demise because of untimely growth. 

It started out as an impulse purchase, surprise surprise we are Sanguine after all.  There I was, at Aldi, list in hand, and ahhhhh there THEY were.  Sublime images of Cosmos and Bachelor Buttons.  Hundreds of them.  Seeds.  Conveniently located right next to bags of potting soil and a tray of seedling pellets.  The list screamed in protest, and threatened to tell Honey Pie of my straying ways, so I quickly added seeds/soil/seed tray to the list.  Ha!  There is more than ONE way to get around Dave Ramsey’s rules after all! 

Flash forward to kids poking seeds into soil.  Water added.  Slapped prominently on the kitchen table facing a sunny window.  A whispered prayer of thanksgiving for the miracle of  nature God designed.  Soon enough the green things poked their heads up, called by the light that whispered the promise of life to them.  And up.  And up.  And up.  Too far up. 

As it turns out the sunlight window was not enough sunlight.  Enough to call to the plants, not enough to be healthy.  So they dangle, spindly legs barely holding up the heads.  I know they are not going to survive.  Their legs are not thick enough to hold up the eventual weight of the leaves & flowers.  They are going to fall. 

How many times I have found myself in this place.  A relationship grown too quickly, not able to handle the leaves and flowers of responsibility or need.  A debt taken on by a quick decision.  Health issues brought on by ‘quick’ eating.  How many times have I made rash decisions and not taken time to pray about them, or been too impatient to wait on Gods timing?  How many times have I not taken time to grieve a loss properly, choosing instead to push on, only to collapse under the weight of the grief later? Too often.  And like these plants, the weight of the eventual outcome was too much for my preparation to handle.  And I fall.  Flat.

So I am doing my best now, to stop the push to grow too much, too quick.  I am stepping back to reflect on why I am so rushed in what I do.  Asking myself the hard questions of whether this ‘growth’ is healthy or not.  I am learning to wait, to grow into my purpose, to let the Son not only call me to growth, but to do it in a proper timely fashion, lest I grow too fast, too soon.

Resist, I urge you, the urge to rush through your season of life.  What lies down the road, a romantic relationship, marriage, motherhood, grandparenting, ministry opportunities, home ownership, your drivers licenses, what ever it is that is waiting just beyond where you are now.  It just may be that your growth NOW will determine your ability to bear up what lies ahead.  Slow down, grow slow.