God, make me a big kid!

My sister, Kyla, is a really good dancer. She takes lyrical and just started taking ballet, and she's advancing really quickly. One thing that amazes me is how incredibly flexible she is. She can do the splits, touch her toes to her head... once she actually kicked herself in the head!

But she wasn't always that flexible.

Weightlifters can lift insanely heavy weights and other objects. In the "World's Strongest Man," competitions they have men who can pull semi-trucks using their own strength.

But they weren't always that strong.

I'm beginning to realize that more.

"DUH, Really?!" You might say.

But no, really, I think it's hard for a lot of us to remember that we don't just grow overnight. The struggles we're trying to overcome won't just go away at once. We're not going to wake up and become the person God wants us to be. It's an ongoing, progressive thing.

I'm learning that if you pray for patience you're not going to automatically find yourself serenely sitting among screaming kids and barking dogs. If you pray for self-control, you're not going to instantly have no desire for that piece of chocolate cake sitting on the counter. God likes to help us build a resistance to the things that tempt us, much like stretching, or lifting weights. We can't put our feet behind our heads or pull any semi-trucks until we know how to trust God through the challenges He's put in our way; No matter how much you want to wimp out, give up and say things are "too hard."

Also, no matter how much you want to, don't do this: "Wow, they're so mature... I'm like, totally immature in my walk with God compared to them!" We've all done that one. Sometimes they're the same age as you, other times they're younger than you (that's when you start feeling like garbage. lol)! But God has you both at different places. They could be struggling with things you aren't struggling with, and vice versa. We all have problems, so comparing ourselves to others really won't get us anywhere! :P

While we're learning more about God and growing in our walk with Him, we may not even realize we're changing that much. It could be a little alteration in our thinking here, a little tweaking in our behavior there...

But then one day we'll look back on how we used to act, and realize how much we've changed. Maybe that's why God doesn't just *poof*! make us patient, loving, selfless and self-controled-- getting there is half the fun. ;)

Hang in there!