By The Rev. Jeremy Myers
There is a newly minted adult in the Myers house as of this week.
According to the U.S. government, my little girl is now a grown adult. I realize age is just a number and nothing functionally changes in our lives due to the passing of this chronological signpost.
It does, however, have meaning. It is important. And if I’m being honest, this just hits a little different.
Beyond gaining the right to vote, she gains an assortment of other rights and privileges, not the least of which is the right of full autonomy. Legally, she has the right to walk out into the world on her own and do what she deems best without parental permission. We have walked with her to this point, but the way we walk with her into the future is largely her decision.
I am fully aware my previous statement comes across as somewhat melodramatic and emotional. In fairness, she is my first-born, and I did tell you it hits a little different. The truth is that autonomy has a price tag. One can’t truly go off on their own and do as they please until they can afford to pay for it out of their own pocket.
In our case, neither parent nor child is in any hurry to significantly alter our current arrangement. But this birthday is a harbinger of things to come. Our girl is now 18. In just a few weeks, she graduates high school. In a few months, she makes the move to the campus of Grace College. And all too soon, she will head out to make her mark on the world.
Hopefully, though, she won’t be out on her own. She will be joined by other wonderful women and men who will come alongside her to walk with her for a while, women and men who will help her on her way and whom she can help on theirs.
There’s an interesting story in the book of Acts. An angel tells a man named Philip to walk a desert road. As Philip walks along, he comes upon a man traveling by chariot, trying to understand a passage of Scripture.
Prompted by the holy spirit, Philip runs to the man and asks him what he’s reading and if he understands it. The man responds, “How can I unless someone guides me?” and invites Philip to join him as they make their way down the road. Philip explains the truth to the man, the man is baptized and just as quickly as he came, Philip is gone and the man continues on his way rejoicing.
This story strikes me as being a great parable for how life works. We are all on a journey as we make our way through life. By the grace of God, people meet us on the road, and we are provided the privilege of walking with them for a while.
They make an investment of time, energy, emotion and intelligence in our lives and us in theirs, and just as quickly as we join together, seemingly in an instant, we find ourselves in different places, hopefully rejoicing that we had the chance to walk together at all.
Quaker Missionary Stephen Grellet famously wrote, “I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”
As we make our way through life, we need to walk with eyes wide open. We need to learn to take it all in, to appreciate our experiences and the people with whom we get to share them. The old adage is all too true, “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.”
I think that’s particularly true when applied to the people with whom we’re privileged to share our lives. See the beauty in every moment, but even more so, see the beautiful people who walk with you through them.
I am very proud of the young woman my wife and I have raised (and of the young man who is just a few years behind her).
The truth, however, is we didn’t raise her or her brother on our own. There have been countless others who have walked with us on the way. They have invested a piece of their lives in hers and helped her become the fierce, faithful, compassionate and caring young woman she is. And I trust as she walks boldly into the future that God will put other people in her path that will walk with her for a while.
Who has God given you the privilege of walking with today? Make the most of it because the miles pass quickly.
The Rev. Jeremy Myers is the lead pastor of First Baptist Church in Seymour. Read his blog at jeremysmyers.com. Send comments to [email protected].