Endurance Part 2

So here is my very overdue Part 2 to the Endurance post.  You can read Part 1 here.

Growing pains are painful.  Do you remember them as a kid?  I don't, but I remember hearing kids grown in their sleep because of them.  Yikes.  Why is something so natural as growing up so painful???  We see the theme throughout life and throughout Scripture as well (See Romans 5:2-4 and Romans 8:17-18).  Growth almost always involves some kind of pain, breaking, hardship or being faced with tasks beyond our current abilities.   It's like God says, "Oh, good!  You've become proficient in this area of life.  Here' s a situation that will take you beyond your means again so you can grow some more."  Hear me here though.  I don't believe that God causes evil.  However, there are plenty of times when God sees evil circumstances and the attacks of Satan, but then uses them for our good, including for our growth.

A good friend recently said to me, "Debbie, you run away from pain, but then you end up hurt anyway because you lose the potential for good as well.  Pain is inevitable.  You have to learn to move through the pain to get to something better on the other side."  Wise words, my friend.  Wise words.   But easier said than done!  I recently had a situation where I had the choice to move away from the pain or endure it for the potential of something good.  All the emotion and fear came up...  so I talked to my team of very wise advisory friends. With the support of multiple reality checks, compassion and mercy, wise counsel, and a supporting team by my side, I was able to stay in the game.    It took all that though!  And it took me recognizing that the pain was in part a very real response to the situation, and also, in part, a fear of pain itself.  This awareness gave me the ability, for just long enough, to hold back my reactivity and stay present enough to hear wise counsel, seek the Spirit's guidance and hear my own heart.

Growth is hard.  "Fear of pain" is my growing edge, but really, it could be anything.  What is yours?  Regardless, the same process applies.  One way or another, God shows us where we need to grow, and, soon after, he provides opportunities to practice.  If we run away for fear of the pain that that opportunity will cause, fear of the failure, self-doubt, or just dread of the hard work, we miss out on the growth.  This is where endurance kicks in.  Are we aware enough of what God's growing edge for us is in this season so we can embrace the pain, fear and doubt when they come, for just long enough?  That moment of endurance opens the door to hearing our hearts, the guidance of the Spirit, the counsel of community and the uptick in courage.  Endurance is experienced moment by moment, day by day.  Just long enough... to experience something new.