Growing Pains

This conversation happened in my classroom the other day:

Me: Are you okay? You look a little out of it today?

Student: Yeah... I'm okay. I just didn't sleep a lot.

Me: Why didn't you sleep a lot? Was there a good TV show on?

Student: No... my legs hurt a lot. Mom says I have growing pains.

Me: Oh, I see. Well, I just wanted to check on you.

     Yep. He had growing pains. Not the old TV show, but rather that "uncomfortable- gonna make me better but it hurts right now" pain. So naturally... my metaphor-finding brain saw this as a life lesson. Children have growing pains because their bodies are getting taller and stronger. Their bodies are telling them that something is changing. They are being stretched. Shouldn't we do this in our adult lives too?

     Growing pains. A necessary evil in any situation. Whether that is your career, your spiritual life, or your social life, growth is something that needs to happen in order to not have a stagnant or repetitive life. My pastor said at church today that it is very important to avoid that "going through the motions" phase of life. I agree with him completely. 

     But that too, got my brain thinking. If I don't want to just "go through the motions" but I have the same things to do every day (work, bunny care, cooking), how can I grow? I've been perusing other blogs and reading books and here are some of the things that I am going to try to do in order to avoid a life of "going through the motions."

          1.   Serve Others: This can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people. To you it might mean inviting someone over to hang out or have dessert. It might mean sending a letter, note, or package to a friend or acquaintance who might be having a hard week. Maybe for you it means taking time to pray for someone who needs it. Maybe it's a froyo date on a calm night of the week. Remember that serving doesn't always have to involve money. Get creative!

          2. Grow Spiritually: Spiritually means different things to different people. For me, this means joining a Bible study hosted by my church and meeting with women who want to learn to trust and believe in God with all of their hearts. We are doing the Beth Moore -"Believing God" study right now and it is amazing.

          3. Read books that challenge my existing ideas about the world: I recently read "I Like Giving" by Brad Formsa and the book challenged me to think about the giving that I do in my daily life. The book not only gives examples of ways to give (monetary and not), but it shows you the science behind giving. I picked up two other books recently with ideas that I have been struggling with lately. These will allow me to either change or confirm my ideas that I have and live out daily.

          4. Socialize: When you are in constant conversation with people who have your best interest in mind (friends or mentors usually), then through their life experiences, thoughts, and reflections, you will be able to grow. 

     I'm not saying that I am perfect in living a life full of growing pains, but I know that as long as I am trying to grow and feel the uncomfortable pain, I will be a taller and stronger person. (<---see what I did with that metaphor)

     I challenge you to go outside of your comfortable box and explore because you never know what you will find.

Create

            In my mind, there is nothing so freeing as to create. Whether that is creating a blog post or a new decoration or a homemade card to send to someone who has been feeling a little down. The simple (or not so simple) act of creating something is refreshing. I think this is why so many newly-on-their-own people find joy in cooking. They get to take things that weren't a part of something and make a dish that is satisfying and delicious (it could also be the years of meal plans... ehhmm... ritchie food...). I find myself clicking on the "DIY & Crafts" category on Pinterest more than any other category, just so that I can find inspiration for my next project. 

            Some folks say that school is what steals a child's ability to be creative and thus create. But I think that even more, the busyness that we put ourselves through is what steals our creativity. Sometimes, the routines that we are so set in, don't give us time to have the potential failure that creating comes with. Because we all know, that once you decide to create something (especially if you had Pinterest inspiration), the end result isn't always what it was supposed to be. That's because creating is all about the journey. The process.

            **Warning: here comes a metaphor.** Just like life. The journey is the important part. This is told to us teachers time and time again. It's the reason that we allow kids to fail in a supportive environment. It's because as long as they learn something along the way, they are not failing. The same concept was mentioned at church this morning. The journey is hard and long sometimes, but worth it because you will end up in a place that you never even imagined.

            Now that I ranted a little, let me bring it back. Create things. Create new meals. Create poetry. Create a craft that will bless someone else. Create a blog post. Create an art masterpiece. Create a new outfit combination from the clothes that you have. Create a get-together with your friends. Create a new fundraiser for a philanthropy close to your heart. Revamp an item that you already have around the house. Create a new tunnel system for your rabbit (maybe that's just me...). Create a Youtube video. Just create! You won't regret it.