there's a new man in my life

18 today.
and all of a sudden the world tells me it's official: my oldest son can vote and go to war and sign his own forms. he's 18 and he's a man.

the new man in our life.

i know it's a milestone birthday -- a day worthy of big celebration. this man thing. this growing up thing.
this sense of independence and this autonomous, coming of age stuff.

but as his mom, i also know none of it came with the quick flip of a calendar page. it wasn't overnight or all of a sudden or with the arrival of birthday cake and candles.

that's not how growing up ever works.

no, it comes little by little.

it came when this little boy learned to face fear and failure.
when he attempted adventure and when he pursued what felt impossible.
it came with discovery and decisions and disappointments
and, yes, it came even with the feelings of defeat.
It came when he tried new things and when he trusted old things.
it came in the extraordinary and it came in the very, very ordinary.

sure, turning 18 is momentous. it's a milestone. but growing up is done in the moments and miles of everyday living.

happy birthday, tyler.  we love your sense of adventure, your love of God’s creation and your tender heart for Jesus.

"how blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways of zion." ~ psalm 84:5