I remember hearing my parents talking about me in the next room: ‘He must be going through puberty.’ I felt anger. I felt judged. I felt misunderstood. I must have been going through puberty! Am I the only one who still feels a little awkward saying the word out loud?
It wasn’t until my thirties when I had my penny-drop moment about puberty. A paediatric doctor was on our podcast for parents helping us to think about how we talk to children about their bodies as they grow up. Without any fanfare she said: ‘Puberty is God’s way of preparing our bodies for adulthood.’ I apologise if I am the only one who missed this obvious perspective.
God’s amazing design
God designed our bodies to amazingly change as we grow up – from a completely dependent baby in the womb, to a child learning to do things for themselves, to a young person going through puberty and growing in independence to become an adult.
