Lesson in the Toy Box

The boys and I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment this afternoon. We tackled our downstairs toyroom this morning, and they were able to release many of the toys I've been longing to bid farewell for a loooong time.

Does this happen at your house? Every few months we go through their toys and I ask them what we can pass on to someone else, donate, or sell. It has to be a unanimous decision. Without fail, I come away with with a few token trinkets at the bottom of a bag...maybe a super ball, a broken truck, or a game with missing pieces. Despite the fact that I know they've outgrown many of the toys and haven't touched them in years, they've rarely felt ready to part with them. There was one red love bug in particular...a large VW bug that our middle son earned as a reward when we were potty training him. Back in his "Herbie" days, he played with it while watching the movies. He hasn't played with it in years, and every few months, I've tried to persuade him to pass it on to a loving new home. He's never consented...until today.

Today I didn't even have to ask. He was ready. In fact, the boys surprised me and were ready to part with many of their childhood toys. As we worked side by side and sorted through years of memories, I was struck again by the fact that my "little" boys are growing up.

Our newly-turned 8-year-old keeps reminding me that he's halfway to 16. And amidst countless graduations and graduation parties, I'm continually reminded that our oldest son graduates in just 6 years. Our middle son and I were discussing the years of their graduations just a few days ago. I think it was the first time I said it out loud...2013, 2015, 2017...

As I packed up the boys' Rescue Heroes this morning and nostalgically placed them in a bag, I started feeling a bit sad that this particular "season" was behind me. But then God graciously impressed this verse on my heart:

"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

Don't get me wrong...I know our boys are still young. But I'm ever mindful that they're growing and maturing...just as they should do. It's good and right. You'd be pretty shocked to visit me in my home and discover me playing (alone) with dolls or playing dress-up. But far too often, I do the spiritual equivalent. Rather than moving ahead and maturing in Christ, I cling to the past. Rather than exalting Him, I exalt myself. Rather than craving the solid food of God's Word, I desire to be bottle-fed.

And so, while it sometimes causes a mama's heart to ache as we reach some of these new stages and milestones, I'm thankful that God is working in the hearts of our boys and their mom. God used the physical parting of their toys to remind me of a spiritual truth. As we grow, we need to be putting childish things behind us. What's cute as a small child is no longer cute as a 30-something mom. May I never rationalize my sin and make the excuse that "it's just the way I am." Oh, that God would show me where I speak and think and reason like a child; that He would do His transforming work in my heart and life that I may be mature and complete.