This sweet girl of ours...she's growing up! She's not just getting taller and eating more food, although those things are happening too. She's really growing up. How do I know?
She's asking more questions.
No, not the silly questions that come up 217 times a day like "What's for lunch" or "can I please have another piece of cheese?" She's really asking deeper questions that show me she is really learning and trying to grasp things. "Why did King Herod want to kill baby Jesus?" "Did the wise men make a mistake when they told the king about Jesus?" "Will Molly be in heaven when she dies?" "What about my red blanket?" "When I was born did your tummy burst and I popped out?" "Where does the rain come from?" "Where is heaven?" I have to admit that I get tired sometimes of the silly questions that she asks me OVER and OVER again....but I never tire of her deeper questions that seek meaning and truth. She genuinely wants to know and understand the world in which she lives in. She wants to know more about the God that we worship. She wants to know and understand how things work and fit together.
The other day we were listening to the radio and a song came on about giving everything to God. The man sings "take my will, take my life, take my soul, I give it all to you." And from the backseat I hear Hannah ask, "Mom, why is that guy giving everything away?" And, we were then able to talk about surrendering to God. My Hannah...she's growing up!
For so much of her life, we have chosen everything for her...paint colors, furniture, where toys and books belong, clothes she will wear, etc. Now, she is getting to an age where all of those decisions (even the littlest ones!) matter to her. She wants to arrange things in her room in a certain way. She wants to get a makeshift vase and have pretty red flowers next to her bed. She wants to listen to the birds chirp on her sound machine instead of the white noise (even when it seems our house turns into a rainforest at night). She wants to pick out her clothes all by herself. Her little personality with all of its likes and dislikes is blossoming. Now, I would be lying if I said that it is all peaches and cream when she wants something done her way...it's not. Yes, we butt heads, yes, we have to say no...a lot! But, she is becomming her own little person right before our eyes. My Hannah...she's growing up!
Last night at the dinner table she looked me straight in eyes and expressed deep and genuine love for me. It was beautiful, really beautiful! She then went on to same the same things about her Daddy. Then she talked about how much she loved our little family. In those moments of honesty and unprompted love, I see God working on her little heart. She is learning in so many social situations that being unkind hurts and being kind brings joy. She is learning what it looks like to be a faithful friend. These lessons often hurt themselves as they are learned, but I see that the fruit is beginning to bloom. My Hannah...she's growing up!
