Child of God Growth

"Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life., and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Ps 23.6

"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle." Ps 29 4-5

My view of God has changed over the time I have lived. I truly believed God existed from childhood, I do not remember God "not" being there. But my view of Him has changed. Not drastically, but to a deeper understanding.

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as a in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." I Cor 13.10-12

God fully knows us, yet we do not fully know Him. As we age in our faith, in our understanding of Him, we see Him differently. 
As children, we saw our parents in a certain light. As we grew, the parental light shifted to allow a larger understanding of what and why our parents did things---right or wrong. 
As we grow in faith, we see and understand more of God. We trust deeper, we hold tighter; our faith becomes firmly rooted into the soil, as the parable speaks of in the Gospels. We are not so easily disturbed by dry times, we are not so easily lost to the "birds" of the world. Our roots are deep and strong, holding us firmly in place. 

"Suddenly, the dealing of being surrounded by the love of Go the Father--enveloped in it, cradled with infinite gentleness. Awe swept through me, followed by the conviction that it was not necessary to ask for anything. All I had to do was to commit...our future to this great love." (Beyond Our Selves, Catherine Marshall, 1961, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, pg 37-38)

As a child of God, it was harder to just "let" God be God. Prayer was a duty, to make sure God knew that what you asked of Him was important to you. Little comfort came from praying, because it was an effort. It was if asking a parent for something possibly forbidden. No extra allowance. No extra time up.
Yet as an older child of God (not daring to say an adult of God), it has been learned that He already knows what i wanted or needed. It is learned that He may or may not answer the desires of the heart, based on what He knows and understands of the past, present and future. 
But there is a great comfort in that. Now, as that older child of God, one is able to lean on God, become so enveloped in His love that all fear is driven out. Peace and joy fall over one, as God's great and wonderful presence is present. 
Prayer becomes an open invitation to lean on God, to open one's eyes and heart to feel His love. Prayer is not merely to ask God for things, to tell God of the woes He knows you have. It is the chance to build deeper roots, to stand firmly in place and be so surrounded in His love that it is nearly overwhelming. 
Growth as a child of God is indeed an experience worth telling.