Growing old...

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I know that a lot of people still consider me to be young, and I do likewise, but it is crazy to think how old I really am getting. It seems like just yesterday I was 18, and now I am going on 22 in just a few short weeks. A friend and I were talking about how out of nowhere we just started becoming friends with more and more adults and now look at some.. not all, but some.. teenagers and ask ourselves if we use to be the same way. I guess if we were all honest with ourselves than most of us would say that when we were teenagers we did think that we knew more than we actually did. Like we had all the answers and those who were older than us were just there to tell us what to do, but they never had any real wisdom. Okay I think I exagerated that alittle. We all knew that adults know more than us, but when it came to some things (I know for myself) I did not want to always listen to what I was being told, but instead wanted to learn my own way. Because of that stubborness and pride and selfishness I went through a couple of trials that could have been avoided had I listened to those who were older and wiser than me.
I started thinking about this more after a service last week at camp. A friend of mine came to visit us and we forgot to save an extra seat, so we were forced to sit in the far section. Well Pastor Krohn was standing up there preaching and almost the whole row of girls in front of us were not paying attention. I did not know these girls, but I had to correct them atleast 5 times because the lady counselor sitting next to them was not. The counselor in front of them did correct them when she saw or heard anything.. however she did not see nor hear it all. They were complaining that they were bored and were tired of preaching. How sad, I thought. There was not one message that I thought was "boring" and not one message that I wouldn't sit through again.. they were all great. But isn't that how it goes? Children a lot of times don't grasp what it is that they need to learn. I certainly am not perfect and did not grasp everything myself, but I could not believe the complete disrespect that was coming from these junior girls. At one point my girls were cheering and screaming (before the preaching of course) and two girls turned around and told them to bequiet. Well, my blood starting boiling. These girls were not happy with anything, so I very politely told them that my girls were doing nothing wrong and that they needed to turn around and leave my girls alone. I know that some kids only go to camp for fun and not necessarily for the preaching, but these girls were mocking the preaching and the fun. They were just not satisfied at all.
I am not sure how I got on that, but it made me appreciate growing up even more. There was one time that I wanted to tell the "counselor" that she needed to learn how to counsel and keep her girls under control, but I did not, because I know that everyone is at a different level in the Christianity and I did not want to be a stumbling block to anyone... that would only put me in the wrong. And I know that I am far from perfect and did not want to come off in a wrong way, and let my anger speak.
I am very thankful for the church that I attend, and have attended since 3rd grade. I have learned so much... how to act, how to dress, how to talk, etc, etc... and am just so thankful for it all. Yes, I am growing up.. but with age comes wisdom, right? And if I want to help the girls in my Sunday school class, and possibly maybe even one day raising my own children, then I must grow up and learn what I need to learn.
Old? Not quite. Young? Not wanted. I am just trying to soak up all the wisdom that I can, and looking forward to growing old in the Lord, if the Lord sees fit.
And with this I depart... I have always wanted to be older than I was. When I was a youngen I wanted to be a teenager, when I was a teenager I wanted to be an adult. This is the first time in my life that I am truly 100% completely content with where I am, and excited to see what lies ahead! Philippians 4:11