growing… {5mf}

5 minute friday on growing…

lately i’ve been thinking about thick skin and soft hearts. and when i asked how you develop thick skin here’s the response i got back: just like a callous…by being rubbed the wrong way a lot…there’s no easy way.

that’s the thing about growing. shortcuts don’t work. you’ve to go through the process. the hard work has to be put in and the waiting. a crop doesn’t show up overnight. the rains, winds, sun all come day after day.

often it’s not fun. it hurts. yet there’s an end result that’s beautiful.

in this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. these have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. though you have not seen him, you love him. and though you do not see him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. 1 Peter 1:6-8

i read that over and over on my run yesterday. because while it clearly says that you will suffer grief and we all know that grief unfortunately isn’t a clean cut linear process…the faith that will be refined and that is growing…is worth it. even though in the process you may have to be rubbed in the wrong way a lot. so rejoice. trust. love. keep on keeping on.