Moving On

“Do you think we were good parents?” I was surprised when mom asked this question since I had been gone from home for many years.

I remembered financial sacrifices to take family vacations and put food on the table. I also remembered helping with school projects and moral and spiritual training.

On the other hand, I thought of not being allowed to dance in gym class or go to a birthday party because they were going to a movie. Reading a book for teens about sex was curtailed, though it was by a well-known Christian author.

Her question helped me realize I had felt like a victim under some of their restraints; however, instead of anger and rehearsed complaints against the way I was raised, I had moved on.

As an adult, I was free to make my own choices, so I did.

The first movie I attended was Sound of Music, and twenty-two years after that childhood birthday party Bambi was back in theaters. I went just to see what I had missed.

Christian books about sex and marriage were read later, but I never learned to dance because I discovered I had two left feet.

My childhood issues were not as life-threatening as what some people must overcome. They did, however, affect my life view and who I was.

Let’s face it, our upbringing leaves residual effects. But a healthy move from childhood to adulthood creates change.

The Apostle Paul said, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me” (I Corinthians 13:11 NIV).

Maturity means growing in one's ability to accept responsibility for personal choices.

Have you ever moved without getting rid of something? As we mature, we can choose to leave the emotional baggage of childhood behind.

Moving on is an important part of life. The nice thing is that this move has no age limit.