Frontal Lobe Development

Recently, my husband reminded me that the frontal lobes of young people are not fully developed until around age 25. This led me to read up on the functions of the prefrontal cortex:
-Focusing attention
-Organizing thoughts and problem solving
-Foreseeing and weighing possible consequences of behavior
-Considering the future and making predictions
-Forming strategies and planning
-Ability to balance short-term rewards with long term goals
-Shifting/adjusting behavior when situations change
-Impulse control and delaying gratification
-Modulation of intense emotions
-Inhibiting inappropriate behavior and initiating appropriate behavior
-Simultaneously considering multiple streams of information when faced  with complex and challenging information

This brain region gives an individual the capacity to exercise “good judgment” when presented with difficult life situations. (Walsh D. Why do they act that way? A survival guide to the adolescent brain for you and your teen. New York: Free Press. 2004.)
I found the above list enlightening. So many of the issues that we associate with adolescence can be explained by this delayed maturation. However, most of us expect adult behavior and judgment from young people over 21. We might make some concessions when they are under 18, but we expect them to be independent, responsible adults much before the age of 25. Many young adults live away from home, make career and college choices that will affect their entire lives, fight wars in foreign countries, get married, and have children. Those who have not reached these milestones by 25 are deemed immature and somehow deficient. We, as a society, need to rethink our expectations of young adults. We need to give them some extra time while their prefrontal cortex fully develops. We need to be patient as they get their act together.

Whack-A-Fear

“But when I am afraid,
I will put my trust in you.” (Ps. 56:3 NLT)

This verse doesn’t say, “I won’t be afraid, because I trust You.” It says When I’m afraid… This makes me feel better, because I do get afraid. Unfortunately, my automatic reaction to fear is worry. I wish I could confront fear with trust.

I like playing the Whack-a-Mole game at arcades and fairs. This game consists of a table-top with plastic moles that pop up randomly out of holes. You have to hit them on the head with a mallet for points. There are internet versions of this game, but hitting a keyboard key doesn’t give you the same satisfaction as using a mallet!

I wish I could whack my fears on the head as soon as they pop up. My weapon against fear is Trust in God. I expect that fears will keep popping up, one after another, from random sources. Yet with my TRUSTY mallet, I would whack them as soon as they reared their annoying heads above the surface.

“Hit their enemies where it hurts the most; strike down their foes so they never rise again." (Deuteronomy 33:11 NLT)

Abundance Without Interference

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow without laboring or weaving.” (Matt. 6:28, Aramaic Bible in Plain English)

I seem to be in a horticulture mood these days. It’s hard not to notice nature and its life lessons this time of year.

I planted some roses in my back flower beds a few years ago. Every fall, I pruned them down to about a foot from the ground and dumped a bag of mulch on them. I’d read somewhere that you have to do this to roses before winter. Every spring, I cut off the branches that looked damaged and put special fertilizer around the base. Every year, I’d gripe about all the thorns on these roses and how high maintenance these plants were. Last fall, I decided I was done babying these plants. I left them alone. To my surprise, this year the blooms are more prolific than ever before.

I wonder how many other areas of my life could benefit from being left alone. I’m always afraid of neglecting my responsibilities. Therefore, I tend to micromanage every detail. A bit of space and time might allow for more growth. Sometimes I forget to account for God’s contribution to every situation.

Right now, I’m anxious about several things that are coming up. The less control I have in any given situation, the more worried I get. The level of manic panic I feel is inversely proportional to my trust in God.

These roses, flowering in bunches, without any meddling on my part, remind me of the following truth: God’s providential grace can yield abundance regardless of my interference.

Rootless Corn Syndrome

I recently heard about rootless corn syndrome, a disease that is affecting the corn crops this year. Corn plants have an initial (seminal) root that anchors the young seedling and provides it with nutrients and water until the secondary nodal roots appear. The nodal roots provide the majority of water and nutrients to the plant after it sprouts. Under dry soil conditions, these nodal roots fail to develop properly. A young plant that appears to be healthy and thriving one day can be found flopped over on the next day. Adequate rainfall can help them recover and become productive plants, but they never reach their maximum potential.

I can’t help but see the parallel between floppy corn seedlings and rootless young people.

“Since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.” (Luke 8:12-14 NLT)

Some children, who seem to have great potential in their early stages, seem to wilt as teenagers. They don’t develop their own nodal roots to anchor and sustain themselves for the long run. As parents, we can only be the initial root that provides nourishment for a short period of time. The development of the secondary roots and the environmental conditions during this stage are largely out of our hands. However, we must not give up hope that they will recover and become productive, functional, human beings. I pray that God’s grace will pour down at the right pace to encourage stability and growth in these young lives.

“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:6-8 NLT)

Grand Canyon

My son recently asked me, “How do you know that there is a God?”

Spiritual mysteries are best explained through metaphors. So I reminded him of our visit to the Grand Canyon. Although we had seen pictures and videos and heard and read other people’s descriptions of this place, nothing could prepare us for the immensity of this wonder. We couldn’t understand its depth and magnitude until we experienced it for ourselves.

There are different ways to experience the Grand Canyon. One summer, my aunt drove several days to visit the Grand Canyon. Once she got there, she stepped out of her van, spent five minutes looking over the edge, and then escaped to the comfort of the air- conditioned gift shop. I’ve known others who fly over the canyon in a helicopter. But I’m most fascinated by those who live on the canyon floor. I would really like to explore and learn with these people. I bet, you could be there a lifetime and still not have experienced every nook and cranny of this marvelous place.

I have been to the edge of God. I can’t explain this wonder. I want to experience more, so I seek out those who live in deeper intimacy with Him. Great thinkers who write about their experiences are my guides. Loyal servants, who live daily within the crevices of God, are my role models.

Gift of Languages

“And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.” (Acts 2:4-5 NLT)

I have heard people ‘speak in tongues’. I confess that I’m always a bit freaked-out when people do this. So, I’ve never desired this ability for myself. Instead, what I would like is the ‘gift of languages’. An ability to communicate with others in words, phrases, references and analogies that they understand.

I wish I could speak in the language of skeptics, agnostics, teenagers, senior citizens, burdened men, and wounded women. Every person has his own specialized, individualized language. I wish I had the gift to speak to each person with customized words that bring enlightenment, hope, faith, and peace.

Lung Capacity

When I first started running several years ago, I would have a hard time breathing after a mile or so. I’d give up and tell myself that running was just not meant for me.

After several failed attempts, I discovered that if I jogged slowly and built up my distance over time, I didn’t feel as miserable. Now that my lung capacity has increased, running is my favorite physical activity. Ever since I heard that people who live in high altitudes develop increased lung capacity, I’ve been wanting to move to a mountainous area.

I wonder if spiritual capacity is similar to lung capacity.  Can it be improved over time with concentrated practice? When I first started spending time with God, I could only take a few minutes of it before I felt bored and distracted. Now I enjoy this time more and more and try to find ways to extend it. In due time, I hope to move to a higher place, where I can breathe in unlimited amounts of pure, life-giving spirit.

“With many such parables He used to speak the Message to them according to their capacity for receiving it.” (Mark 4:33 Weymouth New Testament)