It needs to grow up!

I was thinking the other day of Joseph and his brothers.... Joseph we all know was destined for greatness and almost ruined it by not keeping his mouth closed, but that's a story for another day... What made me think about him was his brothers. There was a significant age gap between him and his older brothers. Joseph grew up being not only the youngest, but the favorite son. I can only imagine what they were thinking. To have been a fly on the wall the day they decided to sell him into slavery.... 

The reason why I was thinking about them was because of what happened later in the story when they had their encounter. His brothers did not know it was him. Many believe that it was because they thought he was dead. The revelation I received was that they never let him grow up. To them,except Benjamin, Joseph never stopped being the bratty little brother. He never stopped being the brother that said "I had a dream that there were 11 bushels of wheat in a circle bowing down to me."  They did not allow for him to grow up, to change.
I came to this revelation a few days ago because I was thinking that there were things in my life that grew up with me, but then there are other things that either didn't because they weren't supposed to or I didn't allow them to. I think that is a mistake many of us make. When we don't let things grow. We get caught and our ideas on something become stale.

But why is that? Do we sit down one day and just decide not to let things change?

Or is it just easier for things to stay how they are and where they are?
I found myself thinking this as I approached my 28th birthday.... I realized that there are a few things in my life that I either missed out on because I never let them grow up or that I got into because I was going on old information....

What about you? Are there things in your life you need to let grow up?

Trust

I found myself deep in thought the other day.. I was talking with a friend trying to decide what to do in a situation.. it occurred to me that both of us were afraid.. afraid to trust our instincts. It's funny how when you're a kid you have no problems following your heart, but as you get older it does become harder. Is it that we feel there is more to lose? What do we really have to lose though by not following our instincts?

This thought led me to the story of Paul (Saul). He wrote the majority of the books that have become the New Testament. How hard was it for him to follow his instincts? How hard was it for him to trust that he wasn't losing anything but gaining everything? I guess it was pretty hard. No one else that is in the bible was blinded by God. Some can argue that this was because he was persecuting God's people.. but I believe God had to get his attention. I believe that because Saul kept ignoring his instincts, that quiet voice, God had to appear in a grand way...

Have you ever noticed that in your life? Have you ever noticed when something is blaring and obvious?
Have you ever had a horse blinding moment?