It is time. Time to show up with our bruises and scars instead of hiding them behind a portrayal of perfection that looks good to the world around us.
It is time. To show up in all of our brokenness as we begin to become okay with the messiness of life because our hearts can only begin to heal if we choose to stay and embrace it all.
It is time. Time to place one foot in front of the other, even when the direction is unclear because God promises to provide guidance as we move forward.
It is time. Time to activate love as we stop hiding behind our insecurities, making excuse after excuse.
What would it look like for us to begin to let Gods love be our compass as he sparks growth and teaches us to walk in humility and grace?
I know that I have spent most of my life building up walls around my heart. Glass walls, a safe haven that allowed me to see the world but to keep people at a distance.
Then I encountered the love of a God who ever so gently shattered those walls and taught me how to let love in. He breathed life into my heart, stirring awake the passions that had become dormant.
He saw me hiding behind my walls and whispered,” darling, it is time to stop hiding and to truly let love awaken every part of your beautiful heart.” And so the process began, the uprooting, the tearing down and the cleaning out. It’s a messy process, filled with chaos and my heart so often feels as if it is in a constant state of renovation as God slowly tears down those walls and begins to build something new.
Yet the thing about love is that it isn’t passive, it doesn’t sit on the side of the road cheering you on. It holds your hand and picks you up when you fall; it is committed to you no matter what. It isn’t afraid of the mess, but rather meets you there and helps you to break down those walls so that you can begin to rebuild.
Sometimes it is the gentle wind that whispers through as it blows away the dust and spider webs that for so long have clung to your heart. Other times it is the tough way that God challenges you to let go of something you desperately want because He knows what is best and is committed to your growth. It is the way God is committed to planting and watering seeds within your heart, no matter how long that growth process takes.
The thing is, love isn’t afraid to challenge you; it fights for your growth and only desires what is best for you.
So it is time. Time to realize that you have the key to the freedom you are searching for and that it has all along been locked within the confines of your beating heart.
It is time. Time to stand up and to fight for love, to stop tiptoeing around people as you give their opinions the ability to cripple your potential.
I am slowly realizing that sometimes growth comes from picking up the watering can instead of waiting for the rain. I am slowly discovering the beauty in letting God invade every area of my life as He calls me to stand up and walk forward into the light. I am realizing that God is always committed to fight for us, but often times He asks us to stand up and use the tools he has given us.
So whatever you do, don’t miss it. If you aren’t careful you will find your heart is lost among the future roads and seasons, dreaming of what’s to come or reminiscing on what was. Yet maybe the beauty of this life is what is in front of you. So don’t miss it. God’s love and joy, His unending adoration for your heart.
Don’t fight it. The growing pains, the change, the becoming. It is your time to bloom and this is all a necessary part of the growth. Stop hiding, your heart craves the freedom and healing that comes through the tough nights spent walking in the darkness where you discover the bravery within you.
Don’t rush it. Every thing in life is a process, nothing worth having happens over night. So open your eyes breathe in all the colors and look at the way this world dances to the ebbs and flows of life. Don’t you see it? The beauty of being fully present. In the mediocre, in the moments of triumph, and even at rock bottom, there is beauty to be found.
Growth takes time, a flower doesn’t bloom over night, but after being consistently tended to and as time passes. In the same way, our hearts are called to bloom and to thrive, but it doesn’t always happen instantaneously. The process is messy, sometimes the fear and chaos overshadow the beauty that is unfolding. Yet growth only happens when your heart is ready to embrace the challenging process of change. Our moments of defeat and surrender are so often the moments where growth takes root and Gods peace can become evident.
How often do we settle, allowing our self-doubt to define the purpose of our lives? We live in a world that often reminds us of our flaws and insecurities instead of calling out the beauty and bravery within our hearts. Our hearts cry out for freedom, yet our hands are quick to turn the lock, confining us to a place of comfort ability and complacency.
Yet Gods love isn’t cautious, it is extravagant in its pursuit of our hearts and His promise is to spark growth. We were never intended to live a life that is half hearted, but rather to wholeheartedly dive into freedom and to every day walk with an abundance of joy and grace.
So it is time. Time to stop hiding and to walk forward as you let love spark a purpose and passion within your heart.
Rose and Thorn 