April - Growth
Where Growth Begins
If you’re anything like me, you fall into the pattern of wanting to change all of your habits and wanting a quick ROI but when you don’t see the changes immediately, you lose steam and that passion fades only to return a few weeks later to follow the same doomed fate. That initial excitement over a new project releases a dopamine hit and it feels exciting and new. But that “new” quickly fades as the novelty turns into a routine.
Losing that initial spark of excitement can feel disheartening and cause you to panic, sometimes on an existential level, but that’s why our approach to growth is so important.
True growth doesn’t happen overnight. Think of it like a tree; the roots were growing long before we ever saw the green sprout pop up through the soil. And even after we saw the sprout, the thick trunk with hundreds of embedded rings didn’t happen right away. It didn’t produce edible fruits within that first year.
Growth…grows.
Have you ever pulled a batch of brownies out of the oven too early, only to find a soupy mess in the middle? It looks done on the outside, but it hasn’t had the time it needs to become what it was meant to be. Growth works the same way. Length of time doesn’t make something less valuable, and the waiting is never wasted. What feels slow or inconvenient is often where the real transformation is happening—beneath the surface, out of sight. If you rush it, you miss the richness, the structure, the fullness that only time can develop. So instead of resisting the waiting, invest in it.
When we are discussing growth we wish to see in ourselves, showing up - investing - is the most vital aspect for success. But here’s the important thing to remember: investing in ourselves is a long distance task, not a sprint.
If your goal is to learn a new language this year, investment is not spending five hours a day studying. It might not even be studying 7x/week. To truly invest in the longevity of our goals, it’s important to care for ourselves as well. This means we don’t shame ourselves for taking a rest day.
Love your body through this growth. As any mother of a toddler may know, growth is hard and tiring. We grow one tooth at a time and often take naps each day just to simply compensate for the extra work our body is enduring to grow that tooth. Or mothers of early teenagers, how sore are those kids’ legs and knees as they grow those final few inches?
Growth is exhaustive work that takes time. But when it’s planted with intention and attentively nourished, the fruits of the growth are ever so sweet.
God’s design for our lives perfectly illustrates that. We take nine months to form in our mother’s womb (which requires her to nap a lot). We then take a year until we crawl, two years until we walk and walk, and 25 years until our brains are fully developed (results may vary). He didn’t design us to hit the ground running. He didn’t intend for us to experience growth all at once.
Do you ever think that’s why He shows us grace? I mean, if we could set our minds to something and see that growth in an instant, we wouldn’t need His love and grace each time we fall back into sin. He picks us up, dusts off our feet, sets us back on our path and walks alongside us, ready to catch us when we fall again (notice how I said when not if).
God knew exactly what He was doing when he formed each of us. His biggest message has always been to love. At the end of the day, love is the heart of his message: love Him, love ourselves and love others. Love yourself through your growth and rest when you tire - believe it or not, the rest is part of the growth.
Challenge:
Small steps - Pick JUST ONE thing you want to grow and improve in life. Each week, take another step toward that goal.
Guided Reflection:
What small act of obedience could lead to big growth over time? What does it look like to “tend the roots” in this season, even if no fruit is visible yet?
How can I celebrate progress instead of perfection? Where in my life am I expecting immediate results instead of trusting God’s timing?
Which of the qualities in 2 Peter 1:5–9 is God inviting me to focus on right now?
