Tuesday, September 11, 2012

when the little girl grows up too fast.


Once upon a time, I was a little girl. It was a long time ago--ten years, they would like you to think. Those days are now swathed in a pink haze, accented with sparkles and echoing of laughter long past. Even a time machine could not bring me back to those exact moments; those places where all that mattered was why Mommy was gone and whether there were enough Graham Crackers for a snack today.

Why don't I remember growing up? Why couldn't I have paused my life, just for a second, before I made the switch from picture books to pulsing diaries; baby dolls to wistful dreams; lopsided hair bows to unfriendly mirrors? Ah, impossible wishes fallen short in the course of a fast-paced life. Because "growing up," I'm told, is an unstoppable, unpardonable, and entirely innocent crime which all have or will in the near future commit.

I wonder--why is it that I "remember" being a little girl? Aren't I still? Is seventeen so old? The world has created such havoc of the process--plastering young faces with the clay they call beauty, whispering lies in small ears,  and thrusting phones into hands that still tremble in the dark. The eyes that should yet be bright with the wonder and curiosity of being new to life's adventure are becoming as glazed as the screens they follow day and night. Age six is the threshold, and all too soon childhood is left behind forever--never to be regained.

Who is it that has determined such a line of division? Why must my childhood be stunted at the decree of a world which knows no better than I? I believe that today is the day I will claim "youngity" for myself once more--I will throw off the cloak of "too old," and remember that I am still a little girl--perhaps out of pink and night lights, but still at the threshold of an innocence that would be foolish to forget.

When a little girl grows up too fast, the world which pushed her will regret its haste.

"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.'"
[Matthew 19:14]


21 comments:

  1. In this time in history it seems like everyone loses the little kid in them way too quickly. Children are expected to become more adult-like too early. Why not let children stay innocent and young for as long as possible?

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  3. Wow. This is so.true.
    Ive never thought about it this way before.

    xoxo,
    Rachel Nicole @ Summer Breeze

    rachyracheshobbycorner.blogspot.com

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  4. It saddens to see how quickly young girls buy into the growing up mentality. Praise the lord for all us "Little Girls" May we shine the light of Jesus into all of the darknened souls.

    Ali

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  5. Beautiful post. Those words...wow. Amen amen amen. Thank you for sharing. :)

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  6. It is a lovely post, Lucia. Thank you for writing. It was encouragement to read!

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  7. so lovely, and so true. I wish I'd never grown up :)

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  8. beautiful, lucia.
    I do miss being a kid. I don't want to grow up.. So I will stay young in my heart.

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  9. SO beautiful, Lucia. Life was so simple when I was a little girl. No homework, no responsibility...but, in the words of Amy March, "We'll all grow up someday Meg," :)

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  10. It's quite scary. A few years ago, growing up was an adventure. Now it's a reality. I'm not sure that I'm ready. Yet...here we are. :)

    Also, ladies! I just started my own blog! If you could just take a minute and pop over to Walking on Sonshine (www.walkingonsonshine.blogspot.com) I would truly appreciate it!

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  11. People got married at your age regularly a generation or two ago. Kids are less mature these days. People are pushing for a false idea of adulthood-the "privileges" rather than the responsibility, so now we have teenagers aping adults in immorality and adults aping teenagers in frivolousness. Taking away innocent fun is part of the problem, and the much of the rest of it is confusion of what is an adult and the separation of responsibility and privileges. I consider my fourteen year old self and fourteen year sister little girls. Sorry my comment is rather scrambled.

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  12. Wow girl--I've gotta say, this was a courageous and beautiful post! Your right; most girls are still children at 17. But Lucia, you have shown much maturity, much more than the average 17 year old. I was just telling my mom yesterday how pathetic these "grown-up wannabe teens" are. Talking about feeling "left out" because they don't have a boyfriend. Or "so old" because they're celebrating Sweet 16. Goodness, for all it's worth, *I*, at 21, am still a child! You can't put an age on maturity.

    There is so much to learn, every day--about life, about the future, about ourselves and our relationship with Christ NOW. Cultivating, failing, falling, growing in Him every day. It never, ever stops. This afternoon I had a long talk with my Jesus--bemoaning my twisted, horrid self, singleness, and whatnot. Then I realized--why am I worrying about being single? Granted, I'm older than most of these "ooh, I'm just going to die if someone doesn't marry me right now--I mean, I'm 12,"--girls. Granted, I want to get married--but guess what? I still have too much to learn, too many things to curb in my life. I'm not READY for that perfect man yet. How dare I even think I'm worthy of a truly Godly, set apart guy!? May God keep me single--till 30 if it takes that long!--until I am ready and mature enough to serve Him and my future spouse.

    Keep on the narrow path, Lucia! Trust me, you are well beyond most girls your age--I've said that from the moment I met you. I have a lot more respect for you, my beautiful sister in Christ, than I do most people twice your age. :)

    Love you, girl!

    ~ Mich

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  13. Your words touch me so deeply. Everything you have written hits home with me. Why are we thrusting adulthood on younger and younger children each time? Why do seven-year-olds own iPhones; why are sixth graders wearing masks of mascara and foundation?

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  14. This was such a beautiful post, Lucia ♥ It's so true, nowadays this world pushes the little ones to grow up so much faster than they need to. I know of so many little kids who seem to be so much more mature than I was at that age, using language I never did, having stuff I don't even have now. But your right, we shouldn't push them, but instead let them enjoy their childhood, because having 4 younger sibling, I want them to remember it as fun, and happy, and like they lived it enough, before turning another page :)

    ~Molly~
    mollyslittlecorner.blogspot.com

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  15. Lucia, that's just what I needed today. Thank you :)

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  16. Beautiful and so, so perfect, Lucia. It made me think of my eleven-year-old cousin, who is growing up all too fast.

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  17. Very pretty post. :)

    http://eternal-simplicity.blogspot.com

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  18. this is beautiful. I feel this way so often - I feel so old, yet I am still so young..

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  19. Thank you Lucia. It's so ironic when I'm not fond of growing up, and yet I push so hard for it at the same time. I think growing up too fast is a tragedy, but so is the kidults who never seem to grow up. It's just part of the way God intended: "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 childish ways behind me." -1 Cor 13:11

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  20. Very well written. I'll be seventeen in December and feel the same way.

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  21. That is so pretty Lucia! I must say I am rather anxious to grow up, though once I am I'll probably want to slow down! :)

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Aw! Thanks so much for leaving a comment! They make me smile. :)

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