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This is so true….
“Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time” by Rick Warren
“I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns. Philippians 1:6 (LB) “The moment you open yourself to Christ, Jesus begins to work in your life. ” It takes years for us to grow to adulthood, and it takes a full season for fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of the Spirit. The development of Christlike character cannot be rushed. When you try to ripen fruit quickly, it loses its flavor. While we worry about how fast we grow, God is concerned about how strong we grow. God views our lives from and for eternity, so he is never in a hurry. The moment you open yourself to Christ, Jesus begins to work in your life. You may think you have surrendered all your life to him, but the truth is, there is a lot to your life that you aren’t even conscious of. You can only give God as much of you as you understand at that moment. That’s okay. Once Jesus begins to work, he take over more and more of your life until all of your is completely his. There will be struggles and battles, but the outcome will never be in doubt. God has promised that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” (Philippians 1:6, NIV)
“It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more ‘manhood’ to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind.” ~Alex Karras
It’s been a while…suppose it is time that I do a little mind-purging on the old blog site. I’ve been going through a bit of a journey, both spiritually and emotionally. I know, I know…it’s getting deep and only two sentences in, but bear with me!
I have to admit that I’ve left God knocking at the door a few times of late…not intentionally. I haven’t felt very worthy of his presence lately, because I’ve been trying to sort through some stuff from deep down in the old dust bin. You know…those last few little crumbs or pieces of lint that never seem to want to go into the dustpan? Oh yeah…you know what I’m talking about. Hey, and don’t give me that “well, just use a vacuum” speech. We’re talking strictly dustpan here! Ha, ha…I degress, as usual.
So, after years and years of listening to him knock on the door to that little area which hides behind it…. the one with all the dust from lack of cleaning…I’m finally letting Him in with the cleaning crew to clean it up. I know, I know…He has always known what was behind there, but its way easier to pretend that He doesn’t than to face the disappointment on His face….at least, that’s what the wounded part in all of us wants us to think. Come on…that is just absurd logic. Why do we do that to ourselves? Yeah, Satan plays on it, but we can’t blame him for everything…the weakness begins with us and the choices we make to hide out of fear. Satan just takes it and runs with it…we usually throw the first pitch.
Well, the spiritual side of things has taken a bit of a dip as of late, but I think that is because the emotional side has been in focus. I’m finally learning to let go of the past and focus on the future…do I think that is going to happen at the snap of the fingers? Umm…right. No, it’s all a process and I’m just in the beginning, but I can tell you that it sure feels good to be on a straight track instead of the circular one I’ve been on for years. Yep, that’s right…I’m being all deep and stuff…but you knew that was coming before you even read the first line! It’s me we’re talking about! 
Well, I’m thinking I might purge a thought or two on here every now and again to kind of journal my journey, as they say. I’m new to the whole vulnerability thing, so this can be part of my challenge. I’m not aiming to air dirty laundry or anything…it’s more like I’m ready to show off my newly cleaned laundry! ; ) Anyway, I’m beginning to ramble so I’ll cut this short. I’m really excited about how God is working in my life and I am finally learning to take His hand instead of holding on to the hand of the past. I don’t know why I let it lead me around in circles for so long, but I guess that is all a part of experience and how we learn from it.
All that to say, that I really enjoyed the quote posted above…God is teaching me to be vulnerable and to trust and not let insecurity be my guide…that is the Spirit’s role. It’s time I let it do its job and stop giving so much of my energy to the hindering of it.
To be continued…
