Your growth and change are the Creator's intent. Throughout history, God has used hardships to reveal people's hearts, and this unveiling has had a purpose. You have to see what is in your heart before you can set out to change it. Notice how those who have medicated away their hardships with illegal drugs, alcohol, or sex can seem immature. Find a person who has weathered storms rather than avoided them and you will find someone who is wise.
Personal growth and change are not always easy, but they are essential to true humanness. They are the Creator's intent. You can see it taking place in animals, plants, and people. The difference with human beings is that we grow physically and spirtiually. When we grow in the right direction, it is right and good. The Hebrew word shalom captures it: peace, wholeness, relignments rather than dislocation. Spiritual growth just feels right. For example, depression can feel like the severe pain of someone dying of cancer, but it can also be like the pain of surgery, which indicates that we are getting better. If both pains could be physically measured, they might be identical in their intensity but the pain from surgery will seem less severe to the sufferer than the pain of cancer. The pain from surgery is making you better; the other is a sign that you are worse.
Edward T. Welch
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