Putting Away Childish Things

There comes a point in life when your soul begins to crave more. Not just stability—but maturity.

Not just healing—but raising. A moment where you begin to see your behavior for what it is: not defiance, but arrested development. Not rebellion, but pain that never got properly parented.

Many of us didn’t grow up with parents who were present enough to truly raise us. Maybe they provided, maybe they loved us in the best way they could—but parenting is more than responsibility. It’s presence. It's gentleness. It's guidance.

Because of that lack, many of us became adult children—still reacting, still lashing out, still spiraling when things don’t go our way. We weren’t taught self-control; we were taught survival. We weren’t nurtured through correction; we were either neglected or punished without understanding.

So now we find ourselves in grown bodies with childlike habits.
Quick to speak. Quick to rage. Quick to run.
But slow to listen. Slow to heal. Slow to grow.

That’s why 1 Corinthians 13:11 cuts so deep:
"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."

When I became an adult, I realized I couldn’t keep reacting like a child. But here’s the truth: I couldn’t do it alone. I needed a Father. Not just a title, not just a figure—but a true Father who would raise me with wisdom, patience, and unconditional love.

God became that Father.

He didn’t just save me—He began to raise me.
He met me where I was emotionally stunted and spiritually immature.
He didn’t yell. He didn’t abandon.
He corrected me in love.
He guided me with grace.

We have to stop associating discipline with punishment.
Discipline, from God, is not harsh. It’s holy.
It’s not shame—it’s structure.
It’s not fear—it’s formation.

Putting away childish things didn’t mean silencing my emotions—it meant not being ruled by them. It meant learning that self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, not a sign of perfection. That maturity isn’t about being emotionless; it’s about being rooted.

And so here I am:
Not perfect.
Not always patient.
But no longer parenting myself in broken ways.
I am being raised by a Father who sees the full picture.

And slowly, those childish things?
They’re falling away.
Because love—real love—grows you up.

What chapter are you in right now? Head over to Capree's Cozy Corner on Facebook, I’d love to hear your story.