Growing Pains

It's 4 a.m., I'm sound asleep...I mean the R.E.M. kind of sleep. All of the sudden I feel a gentle tap on my shoulder. As I try to resist the prompting to open my eyes, I feel the tap again followed by the gentle whisper of my name, "Mom". I open my eyes, and it's none other than my adorably handsome son, who is in a lot of pain. "Yes, Mikey?", I answered. "My legs really hurt and I can't sleep." As I struggle to wake myself up, the desperation in my son's voice, manages to pull me out of bed. As we are walking back to his room, I slowly become more and more alert and begin asking him specifics about where it hurts etc., explaining that he's more than likely experiencing growing pains. As if my explanation of the pain would make him feel better. As you could imagine, my explanation didn't matter at all. He only wanted Mommy to make the pain stop and at the very least comfort him. So mommy to the rescue, goes to the medicine cabinet grabs some Advil and some muscle rub. I rub the ointment on his leg at the site of the pain, give him the Advil, and urge him to go back to sleep.Does any of this sound familiar? As I pondered the title of the post, I was reminded of those times when I have stepped in to "save the day" with regard to my children. That's what a parent is supposed to do, within reason , of course. It reminds me often that God, or Abba as I affectionately call Him does the same thing, but in a different way. Just like my son, perhaps even your children, have growing pains, we do as well. In life when challenges arise, it's not just bad luck or coincidence. I view those times as opportunities to grow. And just as physical growing pains hurt like heck so does life's growing pains. God steps in every time. Sometime's he lets us just suffer through it while He holds our hand and other times He steps in and makes everything better. Either way, know you are never alone.I remember a time roughly 6 years ago I cut all of my hair off. After about 6 months of wearing my hair short, the novelty wore off. It started to grow back, but very awkwardly. I sat down in my then stylist's chair and complained about how long the growing process was taking and how agonizing it was to wait. She looked at me eyeball to eyeball and said "growing is just growing". Now, that may seem redundant to some, but I got her point. Growing is boring and takes time. The change is occurring daily, but because you are in it, you can't see it. How many of you can say that rings true?Many times in the thick of our circumstances, we experience tremendous growth. I can honestly say that the majority of the growth comes during the time that you don't think you can wait it out, because a big part of the growth process is developing patience. A lot of people think they are patient until they have to really wait to see something manifest. Growing pains are horrible, but hang in there. Somethings may never work out completely the way you want them too, but they will always get better; that I know for sure. I'm a woman of faith that believes in a God who watches over us and takes care of every need we have. He is our Father, and He doesn't like to see us, His children, suffering anymore than we like to see our own children in distress. Unfortunately, those times can't be completely eliminated even if you try to be "perfect".I want to encourage you today to wait it out, and don't give in to the annoyance of being stagnant. Because even if you are progressing slowly, you are still progressing. Slow and steady will win the race every time. It's a marathon and the key is longevity, stability, and sustainability. ❤️