As a Christian woman, I strive to be in a constant state of growth. I know that through Christ, I can be better. It’s not that I’m a horrible person or anything, but I’ll admit there’s room for improvement. (Isn’t there always? :)) But I’ve found that one of the hardest things about getting better is identifying those things that you need to be better in. Do you know why? Because in order to admit you can be better in something you first have to see how you aren’t doing very well in the first place.
We can all give the standard comments of “I want to be more humble” or “I want to be more loving.” But in truth, there will never be a point in time where we can ever say, “OK, I’m humble enough.” No. How frequently do we stop and ponder the instances where we aren’t at all being what we proclaim to want to be? How can I be more humble about something if I don’t even look to see where I wasn’t humble enough? How can I be more loving if I don’t see times where I wasn’t as loving as I should have been?
My walk in Christ is more than just wishing and praying to be a certain way. It requires introspection, retrospection, inspection, and every other kind of “spection” to see who I really am. How am I REALLY being? It’s not about who I’m striving to be, but how I AM being, right now, in this moment. It’s about finding out my true colors.
That’s what we need to grow – who are we now? Yes, yes, we all want to be better, but for me to get to the next level, I need to see what I’m standing on first. What’s my foundation? Seeing that will determine how I take my next steps. If I’m trying to step up but I’m standing on a bank of sand, that step will be very different than if I take that step from a rock.
If I want to be more humble, am I trying to grow into humility while standing on pride? If I want to be more loving, am I trying to grow into love while standing on selfishness? Does that make sense? We can’t grow if we don’t know. Once we see what we’re standing on, then we can deal with and get rid of the problematic issues first. Once the pride is gone, there is room for humility. Once the selfishness is gone, love can overflow.
Sometimes we don’t want to see our true colors because it reminds us of how imperfect we are. Good. Because when we see how imperfect we are, then we can truly appreciate how it is God’s mercy, love, and grace that transforms us into the godly people we are striving to become.
Let’s all take a moment today and take an honest look at who we really are so that we can let the Lord in to do His work. Once we get rid of all the sandy bits, then we become the rocks that the Lord can build upon and He will make our true colors truly beautiful. (Like the rainbow.)
Peace & Blessings,
Miriam
It’s the sandy bits that the oyster uses to start a pearl. Think of Christ as your oyster! The safe cocoon as you grow and learn in Him. Our refuge in the storms of life. With Christ, all things are possible.
I just saw this article. What good points. So many people do not want to OWN their own faults/problems, etc. Another thing, I respect religion SO MUCH, it is quite good for people, however, people lose their own ownership of things with that sometimes too, thinking God may save them from everything, so all they need to do is pray, confess, whathaveyou…you know? It is so much more than that and you hit the nail on the head! Thanks for this!
I am always looking back on each day, if there were things I could be better. I sometimes think I am my own worst “critic”.
I do look for ways my true colors could be brighter, however, it is hard sometimes. I do strive to really think before I speak since that is always where I get myself in trouble 🙂