My son loves peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. I would make them often for him to take in his school lunch. Things changed though when a young man with a peanut allergy became part of the group that my son associated with. Out of deference to this teenagers medical needs ( and more likely a healthy fear of having to deal with sometimes fatal anaphlactic shock), everyone of his friends stopped having anything even remotely resembling peanuts or peanuty products near him. They would even go out of their way to inform newcomers of the rules of conduct/contact

I am also pretty sure that this young man values the watchfulness of his friends.

You see, having a fatal peanut allergy is living with the knowlege that ones body will react revolt. It dictates everything that one does. It requires that one would probably never step foot in a facilty that manufactures peanut products….or probably would never lick the inside of a peanut butter jar. Right?!

I have sometimes wondered what it would be like to live knowing exactly what to avoid. Very “cause and effect”….black and white. I am sure, sort of sure, hopeful that I would do what it takes to live a life free of allergic reactions.

That would be a reasonable thing to think.

Then how is that that we think putting ourselves in potentially destructive places or putting into ourselves potentially destructive / addictive products will have any other outcome than destruction? Or addiction?

How is it that we dance around that which we are allergic to and hope for a different outcome, something other than a type of spiritual shock that revolts at the intrusion?

Why is it that we appreciate our mindful, watchful friends until they point out that our path is going to destroy us? — and then they are just meddling, haters, jealous, nosey, judgemental…etc.

I say, let us live a life that REALLY gets an understanding of what it is that we need to avoid. That we view these things as our destruction, before they actually consumes us. That we value our friends and realize that they are not meddling, haters, jealous, nosey, judgemental…etc. people. But that they know us, love us, and want the best for us. And when they see us trying to lick the inside of the jar, they are gonna want to tackle us and pull it out of our hands. ( we can thank them later. )

Can’t that be what maturity looks like?