Am I Under Surveillance?

We had the joy of catching up with our eldest son recently. Our calls aren’t frequent, but when we get together, it’s an event. We get the video chat going, whatever device we’re using gets set in the center of the household action, and it’s as much like living life together for a couple of hours as it can possibly be. Our kids who live at home drift in and out, stopping to say "hi" or have silly sibling moments; we carry on folding laundry or watching a football game or whatever life looks like at that moment, and we include one another.

This time, life looked like Dan and I having just had a planning meeting for Trim the Wick. Our heads were full of ideas for upcoming teaching and business plans. We were brimming with the overflow of what God was pouring into us in the way of direction and clear purpose for the coming months. As we shared some of that with our son, he noted how much fun he was having “watching us grow and develop into this thing.”

I’m not sure if I can fully express what it meant to have our son tell us that he is still watching us. He is still looking at how we continue to grow, still taking note of lessons that he can take away from our lives (even though we do give him cause to shake his head at us from time to time). He’s rooting for us and taking joy in our growth even as we have done for him. It has taken me a bit to process the honor that he paid us in that statement, the encouragement that what he sees in our lives is a net positive, and the responsibility that remains on us to grow and lead well no matter the ages of our kids.

It brings to mind Paul’s letter to the Philippians, where he sets himself as an example to be followed while simultaneously stating that he hasn’t yet fully attained the perfection of faith that he seeks to walk in. In chapter 3, Paul writes that he “press[es] on toward the goal for the prize…” and encourages all the mature believers to “hold true to what we have attained.” (emphasis mine)

There are many things in our spiritual walk, family, business, and community lives that are yet imperfect. They are areas that we continue to grow into, praying and seeking God’s refinement in our lives. Yet those things that we have learned well, the lessons that have taken root and are growing fruit in our lives, set not only a foundation for ourselves but a pathway for others to follow toward their own growth.

Y’all, you may be in a messy time in your life. God may be correcting some things. He may be opening your eyes to a new direction He’s called you to walk. He may be asking some things of you that both excite and intimidate you. Wherever He has you, lean into it. Press on. You aren’t a completed work yet, for sure, but you also aren’t as unfinished a work as you once were. Hold tight to what you have attained and keep moving forward.
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Somebody in your life is watching, too.