“I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready.” -I Corinthians 3:2

 My toddler recognizes three food groups: bread, cheese, and chocolate.

One of the things I have found most challenging about becoming a parent is girding up my loins for the battle that is childhood nutrition. For the most part, we’re doing okay, except that my son has his mother’s pallet when it comes to all things green. He does not like to try new things, although daycare swears in his daily sheet that he is eating things there he won’t touch at home. I’ve talked to his doctor about this and she said keep introducing him to new things. Don’t give up. She said for most kids, you have to offer them something upwards of ten times before they’re even willing to take a no-thank you bite. It’s different for every kid of course, which means parenting advice is all over the map.

The doctor gives me comfort, though, reminding me that kids do things when they’re ready. They potty train when they’re ready (God help me). They fall asleep when they’re ready (my child says every word in his vocabulary to try and keep himself awake). And they eat more foods when they’re ready.

I wonder if that’s what Paul is getting at in I Corinthians. Writing to this new Christian community, trying to help them get their heads around what it means to be a people who love and follow Jesus in their particular context, Paul isn’t willing to try and give them too much at once. He knows they can’t handle it. He writes in I Corinthians 3:2, “I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready.” I wonder how often we try to force things to be ready before it’s time. I wonder how often our expectations of what’s possible are simply too unrealistic. It’s okay to dream big and have high hopes. And it’s okay to figure out what’s actually realistic, too.

There is wisdom in the discernment of holy dreaming and realistic expectations.

This goes for our own expectations for ourselves, too. Sometimes, we need to be gentler with ourselves and shift our pace so that we aren’t always drinking from the proverbial firehoses. Often, when we slow down a little and take a breath, we find ourselves more open to seeing how the Spirit is moving in our midst. We breathe and realize we aren’t as alone as we sometimes feel.

Maybe you’re in a season where you need to drink more fluids for a while, and let yourself be at peace with that. Some change is healthy. Too much change at once is a lot for one person to handle. As we continue to grow as Christ’s disciples, may we do grow with gentle hearts for ourselves and others. May we trust God to be with us at every stage of our spiritual journeys, whether we’re on milk or moving onto solid food.