Growth is something we all aspire for. It's why self-help has boomed in our generation - the hope that we can help ourselves to grow into better versions of ourselves.
But Growing isn't pretty.
There is pain, discomfort, awkward transitions and even the occasional blemish (mistakes, fumbles, misdirection).
I used to get sucked into the idea that I could change me. That I could improve my life by the way I lived my life. I thought that investing in the right people, the right clothes, the right activities and the right experiences would fill my heart and make me happy.
But I didn't realize the the "right" things I was searching for was really a false sense of perfection.
I never found it and what I thought was "right" didn't change me into a better version of me. It just kept showing me, over and over again, that I was not perfect and that I had many areas that I couldn't improve by myself, no matter how hard I tried. What about you? What is the world telling you that you need to improve on? Your shape and wieght? Your relationship status? Your bank account? Your 5 year plan?
I know the world directs women in various ways to grow: courses to take, books to stack up on, daily affirmations to declare , and ways to date. It's pretty and precise and predictable and "perfect". But I am learning that God's growth process for us looks nothing like the shiny bows of personal growth the world tries to package up and sell us.
Pain and Process; Discomfort and Transformation
This is what God's loving process looks like, not just in my life, but also as recorded in scripture and in your life, too. Seriously, if we take an honest look, it's not the seasons of ease and comfort where we grow; it's the trials and the troubles and the tears that propel us to search the scriptures and search for God. He uses these seasons to grow us, to prepare us and to perform in our hearts and lead us closer to His perfection.
Romans 5: 3-5
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
James 1: 2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
These scriptures encourage my heart to know that my struggles aren't a problem, they are a platform in which God uses to prepare my heart for His process of perfection within me. It isn't always pretty or neat or predictable or easy, but it's beautiful and real and purposeful.
Today, I want you to change your perspective on your problems. I want you to ask yourself how God might be using these situations to pull your closer and how you can lean into His Word and His heart more intentionally in the midst of your trials and messes. God is growing in you. His love, His faithfulness, His peace and His promises are all taking root in you. Sometimes, it's the storms that blow the distractions away and keeps the grounds of our hearts well watered for the growth that is to come!
Join me every day in my IG Stories for a walk through the Book of Proverbs! I share on God's process and His wisdom as recoded by King Solomon in scripture!
If you have a heart to push past perfection and into real transformation, go a head and grab a copy of my book here: Beyond Being Good!
Have a beautiful day!