Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Madeleine Nossiff
grow /ɡrō/verb See: growth, growing
(of a living thing) undergo natural development by increasing in size and changing physically; progress to maturity.
A dictionary is one way to define a word, but what does Grow really mean? (Change, adapt, evolve?)
It goes without saying we’ve all had to ask ourselves that question over the past few months. But the truth is, we’ve been here before. Life if full of the unexpected and we will continue to be faced with obstacles for the rest of our lives.
Daunting? Maybe.
Humbling? Absolutely.
We must look at growth from all angles of life and of ourselves. In every moment, growth will present itself differently: Hiking a mountain, taking an exam, speaking on stage, graduating school, running a race, getting a promotion or accepting an award.
Through another lens, it looks like starting a family, giving birth, celebrating anniversaries, birthday’s, being vulnerable with others, saying “I love you” or expressing gratitude.
And in another perspective, growth comes to us in grief, desperation, frustration and pain. Like losing your brother, relapsing after 10 years being sober, abuse, betrayal, a school shooting or shedding your hair during chemotherapy.
Growth is, at its foundation, simply this: the molding of our lives. We are the artists as well as the clay. It demands our attention and asks us to investigate the deepest truths of ourselves. We will adapt, change, grow and, just as Jacob did, we will wrestle over and over again with ourselves and God.
Here is my invitation to you: Let yourself be present in each moment, battle and celebration. Let yourself try and let yourself fail. Let yourself celebrate and let yourself mourn. Let yourself be in the darkness and grow towards the light. Growth is here to be your teacher, friend and lifelong companion. It is not stagnant, but it is here to stay.
Embrace the process of growing. We can kiss our children, while letting them go. We can make a mistake, while finding self love. We can celebrate our achievements, while also remaining humble. We can endure great suffering and also receive abundant grace.
Growth exists in the fluidity of our lives. We must find compassion, release judgement and remember that with every passing of a human on this earth, with all the pain and agony and suffering, somewhere else there is a sweet, innocent child being born. 🌱