1.8.2023 Devotion

The devotion is about growing up mentally and emotionally. Many people feel like a wounded child when in the presence of authority figures. To take control of our lives, we need to address our childhood wounds and grow up. One childish thing we do is seeking validation from others, instead we should remember that we are loved and validated by our Creator. Two questions to ask ourselves: What are we seeking when we react as a child? and What does it mean to be loved by our Creator? We should ask God for help in feeling loved and growing up. This is today's devotion for Sunday, January 8th, 2023. Today's devotion is titled, The Grown-Up Alternative. The scripture comes from 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 11. When I was a child, I spoke in thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Counselors often ask their clients how old they feel on the inside, especially when in the presence of a parent, a boss, or some other authority figure. Most people answer that they feel somewhere between 4 and 16 years old, and that can be a problem. If I feel like I'm only 8 or 10 when I'm in the presence of a parent, part of me is still living as a wounded child, probably because I experienced some kind of emotional injury that left me stuck. So even though I'm chronologically an adult, I'm still speaking, thinking, and reasoning childishly. To take my life back, I need to address those childhood wounds and grow up mentally and emotionally. One childish thing many of us do is try to get another person to validate us and make us feel worthwhile. We give away part of ourselves every time we do that. The grown-up alternative is to remember that we are loved and validated by the Creator, the one who made us in the first place. Ask yourself this, question one, what is it you are seeking when you react as a child? What childhood wounds in you need healing? Question two, what does it mean to be loved by the Creator of the universe, the one who made you? Ask God, Loving Father, help me as I go through this day to feel that you love all of me, especially those parts of me that are still childish. Give me patience as I learn more about myself and work to grow up the child within me.