Bubble the Bear

Bedtime at the Cook house is a special time. As a child I never realized how precious those few minutes were to my parents. I am not talking about the gentle kisses or the good night hugs, I am talking about the quiet that only comes when the children are asleep. Bedtime has evolved over the past three years for Riley, it began with us holding him in our arms and rocking him to sleep, until he outgrew that. We have had several months when I had to exorcise his room to rid it of hobgoblins, spaghetti monsters and bed bugs, but he outgrew that too. But there is one constant that has remained; there is one necessary ingredient to bedtime that Riley has not outgrown: Bubble.

Bubble is a sad looking blanket bear, Bubble’s eyes and nose are gone, he is a sad looking bear, but Riley loves him more than any other toy in his room. Right now I am not too concerned with Riley’s attachment to Bubble, but if Bubble goes on Riley’s first date or if he is tucked under Riley’s arm when he graduates from High School I will be more than worried. I want Riley to grow up slowly so we can enjoy each stage of his life, but the reality of life is that he will grow up and one day Bubble will be put on a shelf. Riley will outgrow the things that he loves now and will move on to other things.

Sadly, this is something that man Christians are not good at. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul says, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” We are the children of God, and sometimes it seems that we are spiritual teenagers playing with toddler toys. There are things in all of our lives that God is trying to wean us from, not because He is mean, but because He wants us to grow into healthy, mature Christians.

We must each examine ourselves to identify the things that are not good for us, we should allow the Holy Spirit to direct us and purify us on a constant basis and we should search the Word of God so that we can see ourselves the same way that God sees us. I can’t tell you that in doing these things you will achieve perfection, but I can tell you that you will never place yourself in better hands than God’s. God wants to mold you into something special; His plans for you are more than you could ever dream.

Sometimes we have to let go of something good to become something better, so be careful to not let what you are holding on to hold you back from the plans that God has for you. Have a blessed week!