the process

Have you ever wanted to skip ahead in life? I remember being a kid and thinking about how my life would look when I was OLD. That's when I thought being in my twenties was old. Anyway, I used to dream about how my life would look. I wanted to be married, have kids, and pastor a church. No, really, that was my goal as a child. When I would think about those things, I often wanted to jump right to them. Almost as if I would naturally get there one day. I would always think about the end goal but rarely dream about the process to get there.

The process is something we often skip over in our heads. The process is ugly, and it's challenging and time-consuming. Also, it is the doorway to our destiny. We will never fulfill what we have been called to unless we go through the process. The good thing is that when we go through it, we do not go through it alone.

When Jesus first called Peter to be His disciple, He knew what He was getting into with Peter. Peter, on the other hand, had no idea! He didn't know all of the great things he would accomplish for the kingdom of God. Peter also didn't know about the process he would need to go through to get there. Jesus knew Peter would fail. He knew Peter needed to grow. He knew Peter wasn't polished. Yet, Jesus called him anyway. Because Jesus doesn't call us when we are ready, He calls us and is willing to walk us through the process of growth.

No matter what season of life you are in, there is always room to grow. There is still going to be a season of "process". But in each season, you can be sure that Jesus walks with you. We should never give up on ourselves too soon! If we are walking with Jesus, we always have a reason to continue.

You may be just starting or a seasoned person. No matter what, embrace the process. We can all dream about our future, but let's also dream about the process. I don't want to end up somewhere; I want to grow INTO something.