So, I grew up in the Barney generation, where a day didn’t go by without the purple magical dinosaur on our TV set. I loved Barney and secretly wished I could be one of those lucky kids on the show. I had it all: Barney lunchbox, Barney thermos, Barney wallpaper, Barney bedspread, and I wore a Barney shirt with a matching purple skirt on the first day of school in first grade. So naturally, I had all the Barney songs memorized. And to this day, the lyrics to such songs are buried somewhere in the memory storage of my brain.
Occasionally, something will trigger a Barney to be brought to the surface, particularly lately now that I’m a parent. There’s not a day that goes by when the “Clean Up” song doesn’t resonate in my head (embarrassing perhaps, but just being honest). The other day, I was talking to Anniston about how much she was growing lately, and up springs another Barney song from the valves of my memory. The lyrics go as follows:
Growing, we do it everyday.
We’re growing when we’re sleeping, and even when we play.
And as we grow a little older, we can do more things
Because I’m growing and so are you.
After I sang the last line, I paused and thought to myself: “I wonder how I can change this lyric. I know Anniston is growing, but I’m done growing.” It was in that moment that the Holy Spirit spoke to me. I’m never done growing. While my physical development may be complete, I daily need to be growing in the Lord- growing in my relationship with Him, growing into a more godly woman, growing into becoming a better wife, growing into my role as a mother.
In seeking the Lord on how He challenges us to grow, I came across these verses:
Ephesians 4:15-16 says “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
Similarly, 1 Peter 2:1-5 beckons us to “put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
Spiritual growth can be tough. Similar to the growing pains my little one will experience as her body matures, her teeth break through her gums, etc., we too experience growing pains in our spiritual development. But the Lord is faithful, and such refinement is necessary. I’m so thankful for the grace of our Lord that saves me and sustains me as I strive to grow in Him. 2 Peter 3:18: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”
So, I’ll keep on singing…Growing we do it everyday…
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