The Gift of Growth

Tis the season of Thanksgiving.  I just wrote that, but I don't like what it implies.  I don't think Thanksgiving should be limited to a "season."  Every day that our Lord gives us breath of life is a day He deserves thanks.  And I guarantee there is more than just that breath for which to give thanks.

Today, I am overwhelmingly thankful for growth.  I love that after a long period of being static, I can once again embrace the gift of relational intimacy with Jesus and press into Him.  The beautiful image in my head is so sweet!  I am a little girl, standing about chest high and clinging to him tightly with a hug.  He is dressed in a white gown and bending over to embrace my back and offering his body as a shelter over me.  A conscious choice to be near to Him: BAM!  Growth.  I am so grateful that growth is that simple of a choice.  

A few weeks ago I began a study at church based on John Ortberg's book, The Me I Want to Be.  Wow.  Turns out the me I want to be seems as far as a vanishing point on the horizon most days.  (Okay, okay!  I know that I am typically hard on myself.  I will never live up to my own expectations; I will always need to practice accepting grace, as well as giving it.  But the honest truth is that becoming the me I want to be WILL be a loooong process!) But just in the last weeks, I have felt closer to that Laura because of my reliance on God in every choice, every word spoken, and every thought in this scattered little brain of mine.

The most powerful of these three examples is my thoughts.  The session two weeks ago was about renewing my mind.  Truth and simplicity rang out as I listened to the DVD and answered the follow up questions.  It hit me that in all of my past spiritual studies, not NEARLY enough emphases has been made on this concept.  There are several verses about your mind; one most often referenced perhaps is Romans 12:1-2 :

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

There are also many about the power of the tongue.  Especially in Proverbs, there are warnings about its abilities: the choice to lift up or tear down, consequences for a lying tongue, words bringing an increased likelihood for sin...  It seems as though I was encouraged to tame the tongue over any mind work.  But the Bible highlights that we can do much better than that!  If we transform our thoughts, using the tongue for destruction would be a step even further away.  I had the warped thought that in most cases, if I didn't SAY the thought, I was exercising self-control and therefore was not sinning.  But I need to train earlier in the process to change my thoughts so they don't become a temptation for my lips.  Change your thoughts, and change you! 

I'm not going to write about every "ah ha" moment I had because of that session. That was my favorite that I wanted to share.  And to end on a clever thought on which to dwell: Think before you think.

So again, I am thankful for growth.  I'm feeling it, craving more, and loving it. Thank you, Jesus.