Last week, my husband Jeremy and I received some really exciting news. We are expecting our fourth little blessing, predicted to arrive at the onset of Spring 2013. We adore our three sons, so adding another sweet pea to the bunch has our hearts overjoyed.
I am already head over heels for the precious little life growing inside of me; however, in all of my exuberance, there’s one thing that I am not so thrilled about – morning sickness. Well, in my case, morning, afternoon, and evening sickness. It never ends. Although I know it will soon subside, and a beautiful blessing will come at the end of it all, it’s the one unpleasant part of the process I wish I could skip altogether. But I can’t, so I may as well embrace it, right?
I remember feeling that same way while enduring the tough process of allowing the Lord to transform my life. There were some tears I wished I didn’t have to cry; some friends I wished I didn’t have to lose; some struggles I wished I didn’t have to go through; and some mental battles I wished I didn’t have to fight. But you know what? No matter how much I resented what I had to face in order to be groomed and developed into who the Lord destined me to be, I understood that there was no way to avoid the breaking, pruning, purging, and refining process. If I wanted the blessing of new life awaiting me on the other side of my unwelcomed circumstances, I knew I had to go through it all.
Though it may not have felt good at the time, it has all turned out for my good. Every unpleasant situation I had to face has been essential to me becoming the healed, whole, happy woman I am today.
You see, it was during the process that I gained strength and wisdom, and grew in my personal relationship with the Lord. It awakened me to who and whose I am, and opened my eyes to the gifts, call, and anointing upon my life. It transformed me in every way. I didn’t like it one bit, but now I love being the woman that was birthed from embracing and enduring the process.
Every test and trial that the Lord allows to come your way is a part of the process of being molded into the amazing vessel He designed you to be. There are lessons that can only be learned; wisdom that can only be gained; habits that can only be broken; mindsets that can only be transformed; strength that can only be discovered; and gifts that can only be tapped into, as you are being tried and tested.
Does it feel good? Absolutely not. Is it for your good? It absolutely is.
The process is not to destroy you. It may break you, but that is only so that God can put you back together exactly the way He intended you to be. As Romans 8:28 reminds us, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
If you hang in there, extract the lessons from life's trials, and trust God's perfect plan, you will begin to see the new thing that the Lord wants to do in you. Then, you'll be well on your way to walking in all He's called you to be and do in the earth.
The unpleasantness of the process will soon subside, and you’ll be rejoicing over the birth of the amazing woman you were destined to be before the foundation of the world.
Embrace the process, and trust God’s plan. New life awaits you on the other side of it all.