GROW!

That’s the Five Minute Friday prompt word for this week. So, let’s…

GO!

I’ve been thinking of May as Maykover (make-over) month, month to do lots of make-over jobs and projects—in and on the house, in and on the garden, and in and on myself! But what’s impressing me—strongly—is the fact that so many makeovers don’t happen in a day—or a month, or in some cases even a year—and some makeovers only happen over the entire span of a lifetime.

I’m no longer young, and yet I still seem to have so much to learn, to know, to grow, to become, that I’ve not yet arrived at. When Romans 12:2 says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” it clearly isn’t talking about an instant makeover, but a growth process.

I used to mournfully utter the Pennsylvania Dutch saying, “Too soon old and too late schmart!” because it seemed to fit me way too well. “Why did it take me so long to learn that?” I’d wonder, after each little revelation finally blinked on in my awareness. But growth comes from previous growth, doesn’t it? And from experiences that can’t all jam themselves together into five minutes or five days of life. So now I mostly just thank God for some important understanding finally getting through to my soul, or some good heart-habit finally taking shape in my being.

If I weren’t growing, would I still be living? As long as I’m physically alive, new body cells are forming and replacing the old ones. So it’s reasonable to expect the same process to happen in the mental and spiritual areas, in habits and mindsets.

Once you stop growing, you start dying. So here’s to growing! Today, and everyday of life! And let’t not lose heart if GROW seems so SLOW.