I was at dinner tonight with my family and my sweet P started to cry because of the pain coming from within her mouth. She has recently started losing her teeth and this second tooth has been a bit more painful than the last. She has also woken up a few times during the night complaining about growing pains in her legs.
I can completely empathize with her. As a child I used to get horrible growing pains. The aches in my legs were so painful. I still remember the heat pack my mom would use to help soothe the pain.
It got me thinking about life and the different challenges we each face. We are each given different “growing pains.” Some of those challenges are more painful than others. But what finally hit me, was this is all part of the process. The pain is part of the growth. It’s almost impossible to grow without some type of discomfort. It’s physically impossible.
How we deal with growth is up to us. We can spend our time and energy fighting it or we can embrace what God is trying to teach us. If we can slow down enough to listen we might start to understand the purpose. One of my favorite quotes reads, “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
These past few years have given me a run for my money with my health. It has effected every aspect of my life, both mentally, physically and spiritually. Looking back now I can see that God had a plan for me all along. I have worked really really hard on finding my purpose. I know that sharing my art has been healing to not only me but to my clients. I am ready more than ever to put my work into practice. I cannot wait to continue to dedicate my time, talents and energy to helping others embrace their own personal journey. I want to document it all, the hard stuff, the good stuff and everything else in between. Everything I am I owe to the growing pains and the individuals who stayed by my side and helped me see my purpose.