Rite of Passage

There are certain milestones in a girl’s life that mark her progression and journey into adulthood. There are milestones for boys too. These milestones are important because as they are met they signify our step up to a higher level of maturity. And the shedding of another layer of infancy.

These milestone’s start small – walking, and grow larger – starting your own family. But in between there are a thousand other little steps. For most shaving for the first time ranks up there on the “I’m a grown-up now” list.

I remember being a little girl and watching my mother shave her legs. Sitting on the edge of the tub, hand full of shaving cream that she would smooth over her leg then she would expertly glide that razor through the shaving cream creating a clean, smooth path in it. Her legs were always so soft and pretty when she was finished. I couldn’t wait to be just like her and do that too.

I remember watching my brother watch my dad at the sink as he would shave. My brother would smear shaving cream on his face and take a razor-less razor and shave with my dad. Two shirtless guys shaving their beards getting ready for the day. My brother wanted to be a man like my dad.

For both my brother and me shaving was a sign of maturity. It was something grown-ups did. We both wanted to do it so badly but we were told “not yet.” “Not yet” are two of cruelest words a child feels like he or she ever hears. We know we are ready for whatever it is we want but our parent thinks we are not. So we get the “not yet” line.

The thing about milestones and taking that step to the next level is that with that next level comes added responsibility. Promotion never comes without added responsibility. We are not always ready for it like we think we are. Our parents could not allow us to start shaving until they knew we were ready for the responsibility.

I wasn’t yet ready at seven or eight to shave my legs. I wasn’t yet ready to handle a sharp razor in soapy water while teetering on the edge of the bath tub. Further, once a girl starts shaving she has to do it about every other day. That’s a lot for a little girl to handle. Not to mention I had no need to shave my legs at that age. Nor did my brother have a need to be shaving his face at 10 years old – thank heavens.

Despite my protestations, my mother repeatedly told me “not yet” when I asked if I could shave. And in the end I’m glad. Some aspects of adulthood are better left to the adults. But I still have not gotten better about being told “not yet.”

My Heavenly Father does the same thing. God has plans for me. God has plans for you. But that unfortunately does not mean we will be fulfilling those plans right away. God loves to say “not yet.” He doesn’t tell us that to be cruel, we only think He does.

Our Heavenly Father, like our parents, is teaching us the responsibility we will need to be able to handle our new level. He is guiding us through difficult times so when it is time for promotion things that would have been difficult will be much easier. God is educating us and equipping us now with wisdom that we will draw upon later.

God knew Moses would one day lead the Israelites out of their bondage in Egypt. God could have given Moses the power to do it right away, when Pharaoh first banished Moses into exile. But first God had to educate and equip Moses for the task that He was asking him to do. Moses wanted to lead them to freedom but he was not yet ready for the responsibility of it. So Moses spent time in the wilderness being prepared.

I imagine there were many days, weeks, years that Moses thought God had forgotten about him and the Israelites. But God never forgets. The whole time God was getting Moses ready for a mighty step up to another level. But Moses and the Israelites had to hear “not yet” a few thousand times first.

We may think we are ready now for the dreams, goals and desires that God has placed within us but we don’t know the added responsibility that will come with fulfilling those dreams, goals and desires. God does. So we must be patient. We must trust. And we must try not to whine when He says “not yet.” “Not yet” does not mean “never.”

After all, you did finally get to start shaving didn’t you?
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