"Grown up" problems

Like many of you, I've often thought about what it would be like to be a kid again. That thought would be especially tantalizing if I could go back to those days and still retain all that I have learned from life to this point. Maybe I'd take more chances, worry less about little things and laugh more at my friends' stupid jokes. I'm quite sure that every piece of my grandmother's thirteen layer chocolate cake would be enjoyed just a little bit more knowing what it would take to work it off of me now.

Maybe you feel a little like Lisa did yesterday. We were in another heavy conversation about too many bills at the end of the month and mortgages (yes, that's very plural--we are stuck with four) that never seem to go away. In her frustration, she looked at me with the big blue eyes and said, "I'm so tired of grown up problems. I wish I could be little again." Can I tell you, at that moment, I would have given many things if I could have made it come true for her?

Wouldn't it be sweet to worry about whether or not you were going to catch the ice cream truck again? Life would be so much easier if the biggest concerns were the rip in my new blue jeans or getting to stay up late to watch the end of the Braves game. But I'm a "big boy" now, I've got "big boy" worries and concerns. So do you. And we can't run from them or ignore them. So, isn't it interesting that Jesus encouraged us to face our "grown up" lives with the faith of a...child?

He was really on to something there. You see, the reason I didn't worry about big things like bills and health insurance when I was a kid was because I had a dad to do those things. I was ignorant to most of it. Honestly, life's no different now. Yes, I have to hold down a job and write the checks but I still have a Father who wants me to trust that He will take care of the big stuff. In that promise can be found the substance of child-like, no-holds-barred, less stress faith. Easier said than done. I know. But definitely worth shooting for. Oh...to be a child again.

Anyone up for chasing the ice cream truck with me today?

NOTE: I posted this over on Facebook recently and thought I would mention it here. The new website for Ridley Barron Ministries is up and running. I'd love for you to check it out and give me your thoughts. It's www.ridleybarron.com if you get a chance to look at it.