Lesson 18 of 30: Christianity is a Reparenting Process

When I was younger, I used to think adulthood meant independence. You grow up, move out, and figure life out on your own. But now I understand that adulting is really just reparenting yourself. You learn to give yourself the love, discipline, and patience you needed but did not always receive.

Christianity, I’ve found, is the same. The only difference is that we are now being reparented by an all-knowing Father. A God who actually has the handbook our parents always said they did not get.

We often come to God like wounded children trying to function in grown-up bodies. We love Him, but still flinch when He gets too close. We want to obey Him but also protect ourselves. So He parents us gently. Sometimes through correction, sometimes through comfort, and often through waiting.

The Holy Spirit becomes our teacher, guiding us not just in righteousness but in emotional maturity, patience, humility, and wisdom. He trains us to manage our reactions, to extend grace when we want to withdraw, to forgive when we want to harden. He teaches us to listen, to pause before we speak, and to rest instead of run.

“For the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father disciplines a son in whom he delights.”

- Proverbs 3:12

There were seasons in my walk with God when I mistook discipline for rejection. When His silence felt like abandonment. When His correction stung so deeply that I wondered if I was failing Him. But over time, I realized that He was not punishing me. He was parenting me. He was teaching me responsibility, not for performance, but for maturity.

The truth is, many of us are learning to be parented for the first time in our adult years. We are learning consistency, accountability, and what it means to be corrected and still loved. And it is humbling, because Christianity does not just call us to believe in God, it calls us to be raised by Him.

I think of all the moments I resisted His guidance because I thought I knew better. Moments when I leaned on my own understanding, thinking maturity meant doing it alone. But maturity in Christ looks nothing like independence. It looks like dependence with understanding. It looks like trusting His no and honoring His wait.

In my own journey, I’ve learned that healing the inner child and maturing in faith often happen side by side. The same way a loving parent holds a child accountable while nurturing them, God does both with us. He invites us to sit at His feet when we are tired and to stand when it is time to grow.

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.”

- Psalm 103:13

Christianity, at its core, is the story of a Father restoring His children. It is reparenting on a divine level, not to shame us for what we lacked, but to show us what real love looks like. And that love teaches us, trains us, and transforms us into His likeness.

Conclusion

For my 30’s, I am learning that God’s love is not always soft, but it is always safe. He is not just saving me; He is raising me. And in every correction, every delay, and every embrace, He is teaching me how to live loved, think truth, and grow whole.

Now that you know, let’s grow,

– Kimrose🌹