define growth...

"the process of developing or maturing physically, mentally, or spiritually."

a question i have been asking myself lately is, "can you ever learn all there is to learn about yourself?" it would appear to me that according to the definition stated above there are three main areas of growth. 

*of course this is based on personal opinion or experience not to be taken too literally*

physically...we are all well aware no matter what age you find yourself right now, we all experience growth and change physically whether we want to or are ready for it or not...this is inevitable.

i was once 3, i am now 24...growth. 

i was once 1 foot tall, i am now 5 foot something...growth.

i was once a girls size 10, i am now a woman's size 14 (of course as a woman this fluctuates...never a happy thought but hey, embrace it right!)...growth.

i think you're getting my point, so let's move on.

mentally...this area of growth requires a bit more of a choice made on our part. we could stay at the learning level of a 6 year old, but as you go through the years that follow that, you still mentally grow even if it's just experience based, still growth. but of course most of us do choose to continue to learn, study and acquire knowledge as we go through elementary school, high school and perhaps college or university, therefore growing mentally along the way.

spiritually...requires choice, and commitment. when i think of spiritual growth, i think of my savior jesus christ. this is a personal one because there are no rules or guidelines for spiritual growth. you can have as much or as little as you desire. i know that since i started pursuing a relationship with christ i have grown in so many ways, mostly in my character. i heard something just recently that i have really taken on as truth...let's say i want to grow in patience, a challenging one for most of us. anyway it goes something like this...when we ask god for patience he doesn't just give it to us, he presents us with an opportunity to be patient...what are your thoughts?

their stories...

it’s early saturday morning. the sun is rising, the horses are running wild in the yard nearby and young vibrant darcy, no more than 5 years 6 months, awakens to an empty house. her mother didn’t return home last night after her grandmother so graciously tucked her into bed and she has never known the man her mother cries over day in, day out. she has siblings, but doesn’t see them much, they are always out running ‘a muck’ with their friends. darcy has never known true love, she has hardly experienced the joy and tenderness a small hug can bring, or the pride  and comfort that comes when encouraged over a mere color pencil drawing made at school. but growing up in an impoverished culture has not tainted this young one’s spirit in the least, she is full of life  and full of dreams. this is one girls story...

robert awakens to a dark hot room with this gripping fear that his nightmare which took place the previous evening is more than just a nightmare. quickly he is brought back to reality by the tall dark figure standing in the doorway, his father yelling over him. yet he only sees his lips moving, he hears no noise...robert is deaf. he has never heard the trickle of the rain as it falls from the rooftop, or the laughs and giggles from his playmates at school, he has never heard the words 'i love you'. as his father firmly grips his arm to pull him from the floor in which he sleeps upon, the pain doesn't surprise him, that is the one thing he has always known. the fleeting hope only minuets ago that this could just be a nightmare is robert's reality. this is one boys story...

sunday...

this morning i woke up to another sunday, but the thing is sunday is just not any day. to me sunday is a day of friendship, random events and adventure, no sunday is ever the same. my friends and i have cultivated something truly beautiful that only sunday seems to posses, it's really not something that can be explained to the fullest, it's something that has to be experienced.

after dinner this evening a few of us were just sitting around enjoying the peculiarly delightful townsville weather while sipping on a fine glass of 'cab sav' and laughing when i realized something. i was taking my last sip and peering through my wine glass and it was as though i had new eyes to see...it's so simple, but i was seeing life through a wine glass and it was beautiful. love, life and laughter, what more could one ask for, it was a moment of pure joy for me...a moment of true harmony....