This morning I had to finished up some baking before church. So, after breakfast I just sent my kids upstairs to get ready by themselves. As I went upstairs to check on them, my seven-year-old was dressed so fashionably cute that she looked like a teenage. My six-year-old… well, she was wearing a pink butterfly sweater with red and white stripped pajama pants. I still cannot get this image out of my head. It was adorable… But she truly did not understand why I made her change.
My girls are only 14 moths apart.
Many times, it seems to be Grace and Faith, two peas in a pod. The two of them are always playing together, drawing together, and even sometimes doing schoolwork together. They truly act like best buds.
Sometimes I forget that they are not twins. Sometimes I forget there is an age gap between them… 14 months… That is a lot when you are 6 and 7! Sometimes I forget that.
14 months is the difference between learning to read and an independent reader.
14 months in the difference between a Kindergartener and a 2nd grader.
14 months is a big difference in age development.
They cannot be held to the same standard across the board.
I’m currently seeing this with Christians too. A lot happens from the time they suddenly realize their need for a Savior, to the time they start acting like a mature Christian.
I remember when our friends got baptized, my husband told them that was the easy part. It’s easy to see how broken and lost we are without Jesus.
But learning to walk with Him. That takes time. That takes messing up and someone lovingly pointing you back in the right direction.
It’s not the same for everyone, but I promise, we all need people in our lives to keep us on the straight and narrow.
Seasoned Christians need to be easy with their newer sisters and brothers in Christ. They need to learn. But sometimes they are not quite sure what they’re missing. They are watching. They are striving. They need you to come alongside of them and help them grow.
That’s why the Bible tells us to teach them.
“Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God (Titus 2:3-5).”
We are all on this journey called life seeking to do the will of our Heavenly Father. We must come alongside of each other and teach each other.
We must understand that everyone is a different spot in their walk. Some people have been doing this their whole lives. Some people have been pretending to do it their whole lives. And others are striving to start right where they are at.
Each person has a different need.
God knows that. Which is why he has called us, Christians, to model faith and teach others.