Prompted Thoughts

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When was the first time you really felt like a grown-up?

This question prompts a reflection on adulthood and a very personal struggle with the concept of growing up. How can we feel more like confused teenagers than actual adults, even when we're paying bills and raising kids?

Is it that maturity might come, not from having all the answers, but in recognizing our limitations and leaning on others for support?

Takeaways:

• Maturity isn't just about having all the answers; it's recognizing our own limitations.
• Adults can still feel like confused kids trying to navigate life and its challenges.
• The experience of adulthood may involve acknowledging that no one truly has it all figured out.

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Speaker A
00:00:00

Today's prompt is when was the first time you really felt like a grown up, if ever?

Speaker A
00:00:06

Well, this one's probably going to be pretty quick because I still don't know if I really feel like a grownup.

Speaker A
00:00:13

I mean, I certainly do what I think of as grown up things.

Speaker A
00:00:18

I pay the bills, I have kids, take care of the house, that kind of stuff.

Speaker A
00:00:23

But I still very much feel like a teenager trapped in the body of a grown up.

Speaker A
00:00:28

In fact, now, at over 50 years old, I wonder if anyone ever really feels like a grownup.

Speaker A
00:00:37

As I ponder this question, I wonder if I don't know what it feels like to be a grownup because I thought that the adults in my life had it all figured out.

Speaker A
00:00:48

They seemed to know the answers to the questions.

Speaker A
00:00:50

They could fix the world's problems or a bicycle or whatever, and they talked about things with a perspective that comes primarily from experience.

Speaker A
00:00:59

Maybe some education, too, but definitely a lot of experience.

Speaker A
00:01:02

So I thought being a grownup meant knowing the right thing to do.

Speaker A
00:01:25

Now that I'm in the range of middle age, I wonder if I look to younger folks as though I know what's going on and how to fix things.

Speaker A
00:01:34

And unfortunately, I still feel like that confused kid who thinks everybody else has the secret code and understands everything.

Speaker A
00:01:41

I'm just the one that's lost.

Speaker A
00:02:14

I do know this much, though, and I don't know how much this makes me a grownup.

Speaker A
00:02:18

But I've lived long enough, and I've seen long enough now to know that I don't have all the answers.

Speaker A
00:02:26

And that maturity isn't necessarily in knowing everything, but having the humility and the perspective to recognize my limitations and to lean on others.

Speaker A
00:02:37

And I'll say that this is an area that I still struggle with sometimes.

Speaker A
00:02:41

Also, as a person of faith, I do believe that there is one who knows what's happening, who has a plan, and who I can trust.

Speaker A
00:02:51

That doesn't mean I always like it.

Speaker A
00:02:53

In fact, sometimes I don't.

Speaker A
00:02:55

But I think that maybe today is a day when I start realizing that I'm a grown up, even though I don't necessarily feel like it most of the time.