THE PAIN OF PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION

The Pain of Personal Transformation

We find answers and the questions change. We find an opportunity that seems certain and something falls through the cracks. We are walking left but find that it is not right. Life happens. Sometimes our lives contract before they expand. We may be working hard on ourselves spiritually, doing good in the world, following our dreams, and wondering why we are still facing constrictions of all kinds-financial, emotional, physical.

Perhaps we even feel as if we've grieved the Holy Spirit and our spirituality. We feel are stuck in a dark room with no windows. We may be confused and discouraged by what appears to be a lack of progress. Many times, we don't even know it is a process. Go figure. But sometimes this is the way things work. Like a caterpillar transitioning to a butterfly; it confines itself to a tiny cocoon before it grows wings and flies, we are experiencing the darkness before the dawn. When we have done all that we know to do and things feel tight, it's easy to panic or want to act in some way to ease the feeling of constriction. We might also spin our wheels mentally, trying to understand why things are the way they are. However, there is nothing we need to do at this time other than to be patient and wait on God; The Holy Spirit is at work.

Remember, God always start with a seed; once the seed sown, we can only go to sleep and wake up. Whatever happens, don't dig it up to see if it is growing. We can cling to the awareness that we are being transformed from one stage to another. The more we surrender to the experience, the more quickly we will move through wilderness and into the opening on the other side of through. Just like a baby making its way down the birth canal, or the butterfly spinning out of the cocoon; we may feel squeezed and pushed and very uncomfortable, but if we remember that we are on our way to being born into a new reality, we will find the strength to carry on. The healthiest catapillar is no match for an emancipated butterfly.

Even as we endure the contractions of childbirth and the restraint of the butterfly; we can find peace within ourselves if we remember to trust the Holy Spirit. We can look to the natural world for inspiration as we see that all beings surrender to the process of being born and being born again. Sometimes, we just need to turn our eyes on Jesus and pray as we surrender.

In that surrender, and in the center of our own hearts, is a willingness to trust in God as we make our way through the transition. Be still and know that He Is God. He knows the plans He has for you. Jeremiah 29:11

His plan is always better than our plan.