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Wow – itās the last Throwback Thursday of 2020 and the New Year is so close we can almost taste it! Thanks for waltzing down Memory Lane as I shared December posts from previous years. Praying blessings for you and yours, Kayren onĀ 12/31/2020
Taking Inventory, Measuring Growth
What a full year itās been; I have MUCH to be thankful for ā and Iām sure you do, too! The āWatch Me Growā chart with the giraffe comes to mind ā you know, the one whereĀ a parentĀ measures how tallĀ their child is growing every so often? It felt like God kept His spiritualĀ measuring stick handy for me in 2016, but thinking back over the year, I wouldnāt change a thing. Every step of the journey was preparation for what is yet to come.
In retrospect, God has kept my family through one transition after another, and I am grateful. One of the most significant adjustments was the mid-year 180ā° career change of my spouse. Prior to that, God sustained us during a stint when my hardworking hubby endured a 3rdĀ Shift role with valiant strength and dogged determination that ministered volumes to our family and friends alike. Both children are in middle school and are successfully navigating those potentially turbulent waters with the Godās grace, parental patience, and the Holy Spiritās guidance and protection. Were things perfect in my family this year? By no means ā but I am a witness that consistently-applied discipline DOES indeed bring forth the peaceable fruit of righteousness!Ā
Iāve put a renewed focus on my personal role within the ministry of marriage as we celebrated our āSweet 16 Wedding Anniversaryā for an entire month. As I committed to make my 40thĀ year on the planet fabulous every day (and it has a wonderful celebration filled with glitter, laughter, tears, and joy!), I learned that a sign of true maturity is to admit the things IĀ donātĀ know (and to be okay with it) ā this was a liberating epiphany (especially since I consider myself to be a planner extraordinaire)! Iāve learned to embrace where I am at this specific point in time instead of allowing dissatisfaction to propel me to attempt to achieve some unrealistic and elusive goal that was never mine to begin with.
Weāve mended bridges with family members and friends, realizing that time really does heal all wounds, even though it doesnāt change the past. Iāve learned to extend forgiveness proportional to the amount of times I need to ask for it.
Iāve diligently worked on holding my tongue so I donāt respond before thinking (as muchā¦trust me, this is progress for someone with my DNA ā LOL). Iām doing this not through clenched and gritted teeth to āfinally take that vow of silence Iāve been threatening foreverā (but been woefully unable to make good on ā itās in the genes; what can I say?!). Now, this refined behavior comes from a primary desire to please God and to allow the fruit of the Spirit to be manifested in every facet of my life.
Sometimes we canāt see how much weāve grown because itās like waiting for a flower to bloom 5 minutes after we dropped the seed into the dirt ā or more accurately, itās like watching paint dry. Weāre too close to the action to be able to fully absorb the progress. Yet, by stepping back with objective observation through a time lapse lens, we notice the flower unfurl, the seed begin to sprout and bring forth abundance, and our personal growth and development come forth according to Godās Word. I encourage you to take inventory of your own growth over this past year ā you may be surprised to see that, though youāre not where you intend to be, youāve far surpassed your starting pointā¦and this, my friend, is indeed praiseworthy!
Join me in looking ahead to a new year full of promise and potential with joyful anticipationā¦Godās best is yet to come!
ā20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22 It is of the Lordās mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.ā
(Lamentations 3:20-26)
Ā Ā© Copyright 2016 by Kayren J. Cathcart