Growth Spurts and Growing Pains

Growth is so amazing. We have a tomato plant my daughter brought home from school growing in our sink. Yes.. in our sink. I am very lazy and haven’t planted it outside yet. So, it is in a tiny little pot sitting in our sink. It has been amazing to watch it grow.

The girls thought it was so cool as I would turn the vine away from the sun in the morning only to find it growing right back in that direction by the end of the day. It has been cool to watch it start to wilt on the days I forget to water it, then come back to life after it gets a few good gulps from watering. Today we saw the first few buds pop out. It seems like it just grew over night.

I could say the same about my kids. My son, now taller than me, seems like he has grown 6 inches in the past year. I guess that may have something to do with why it feels like he is eating me out of house and home at times. I look at pictures from just a year or so ago and wonder what happened to my little boy. My little boy looks like a man. He likes the idea, but mama isn’t exactly thrilled when 16 year old girls ask for him to stop by and visit them at work.

On the other hand, my baby girl has been crying at night. Her feet hurt and the middle daughter complains of her legs hurting. We all know of these infamous “growing pains.” I remember spending nights as a little girl rubbing my legs because the hurt so bad from the bones and muscles stretching with growth.

Growth does amazing things to plants, teenage boys, and pretty little girls. Growth also does some neat things to this mama’s spiritual growth. Funny… I have growth spurts and lots of growing pains in my spiritual growth.

This week has been full of growing pains. I have had to face feelings, emotions, and circumstances that have just been downright painful. I have had to “put on my big girl panties” -as a good friend calls it- and deal with life. Sometimes these things are spiritual and sometimes they are just part of life in general.

One thing I have learned is that no matter what you are facing in life, if you are a Christian, it is going to carry over into your spiritual life. What I have to realize is that these pains are part of the growth process. Just like I tell my little girl when she cries with her legs at night, there isn’t much I can do about it, it is just part of growing up.

I was enlightened about growth spurts too. Just like that plant in the window that withers when it isn’t getting watered. If I am not drinking from my fountain of life, I get weak and puny. But, as I begin to grow, I get hungry. I have realized that just as my 13 year old son eats and eats when he is growing, I grow and grow when I am eating from God’s word. The more I am feeding on scripture, the faster I seem to grow.

Growth is an amazing thing. It doesn’t matter if you are a little plant stuck in a kitchen sink, or a huge oak in a forest of trees. If you have the right water, food, and sunlight… you are going to grow! Sometimes that growth happens in quick spurts, and sometimes that growth is painful. The thing that matters is YOU’RE GROWING! Take a few minutes to enjoy where you are at in your own growth process today.

Crap!

Yes, I did. I said CRAP and I am a Christian. If that word offends you, forgive me, but I will make my point!


I have been SLOWLY getting some flower beds planted. Now I am not a green thumb and I have NO idea what I am really doing. I have had a few friends give me advice and help me along the way. But honestly, I know NOTHING.


One friend suggested that along with the special dirt I bought, you know that exspensive potting soil, that I get some compost to mix in the dirt. Now you and I know that is just a big bag of crap! As someone that isn't well informed on the processes and science of gardening I initially would think, "Why in the world should I pay $10 for a bag of seasoned soil to ruin it with a $1.50 bag of crap?" Now, I am not that ignorant and I grew up enough in the country to know that somehow that bag of crap acts as fertilizer and inspires growth.

Now I know that word sounds crude the longer I say it. But I want to make a point. What kind of crap do you have in your life? What compost do you want to get rid of? What things have you experienced that just really stink? Why mix the crap of our lives with the good soil? Why not just flush it all down the toilet and forget about it? (Oh my mother is going to have to fuss about this one! LOL She really didn't raise me to be this crude!)

Back to the question... why is the crap in our lives still important?

Isaiah 58:12 says, " You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past." This verse has become so important in my christian growth. God has shown me that a big part of my growth as a woman of God is because of the crap in my life. I am to rebuild on it. Just like we plant flowers in dirt mixed with compost, the ruins from our life help fertilize us and inspire our growth.


We all have a lot of crap...stuff that stinks...in our past. But as I am seeing daily, that stuff is what nurtures our growth and helps not only our growth, but the growth of others with whom we are willing to share the stories. How about thanking God today for the crap in your life! I know it sounds horrible.. but it is what makes your growth so significant.

Pot Holes

I hate pot holes! It never fails when I am in the biggest hurry and paying the least bit of attention, I suddenly find myself jolting myself into a pot hole. I end up smearing my lipstick that I was applying or spilling soda all over me. I guess if I was paying more attention to the road that might not happen.

Not only do pot holes leave me with lipstick across my face and soda dribbling down my shirt, they can also cause some major damage to my car. Little pot holes aren't normally too bad, but the big ones… those can really mess up the alignment. My tires wear quicker and the steering gets all screwed up wanting to pull to the wrong direction. If I would just keep my eyes on the road and swerve around those pot holes, life would be much easier. And, my car would be in better shape - not to mention the money I could save on alignments and tires.

Have you ever thought about the pot holes in life? This week has been full of pot holes on my journey toward what God is calling me. Earlier in the week I read Philippians 2:14 which says, “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” Do you know how much I complained that day? But, I was aware of it and having that verse fresh in my mind kept me so much more aware.

I was able to control my complaining from being as hateful as it could have been. I had to wait for 40 extra minutes at the pharmacy because of someone else’s mistake. I was angry, and I complained, but remembering that verse brought me into check and I was able to swerve from the pot hole of smarting off to the cashier.

Last night I was vulnerable. I have missed the affection and intimacy that goes along with married life. Not only have I gotten communication from an old temptation all week, but someone popped online at my weakest moment last night ready to “take care of my needs” and let me “take care of his”.

Normally, since this is my area of biggest temptation at this point of my life, I may not have been strong. But God is so faithful! I had read Ephesians 4:19-20 that says, “They can’t think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion. But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ.” I had been watching my path and saw the HUGE pot hole Satan was trying to get me to hit dead on.

Pot holes in our life cause destruction. If we don’t keep our eyes focused on God, His Word, and His direction in our life… it doesn’t take but a moment to be distracted. Once distracted, we tend to hit the pot holes dead on. Sometimes it is because we were looking another direction; other times it is cause we are just driving way too fast.

Pot holes cause damage. The jerking causes us to mess up our lipstick (leave visual reminders of the mistake); spill soda down our shirts (leave stains that won’t come out); wear out our tires too soon (make us weary); get our alignment all screwed up (makes steering the right direction so much harder). I am so thankful that I have recently had a new alignment. And, I am thankful that spending time with God made me aware and helped me keep my eyes on the road. If not, things may have turned out differently this week.

Maybe you are in need of a good alignment. Time to make an appointment with the mechanic. Make an appointment with God and ask Him to get you lined up with His purposes again. I guarantee it will make it so much easier to steer straight again.