My sister planted a tree when she was a child—the tree you see pictured in the feature photo above. Now it is an adult tree, grown tall and slender as a young woman—as my sister herself—but still with many layers of wood to add to wood, many green leaves to shoot forth as it matures. For now, though, the tree is perfect in its season.
And that’s what I told my sister when she called yesterday, worrying she wasn’t enough, as all of us do at some time or another—not mature enough, not spiritual enough, not close to God enough, not filled-with-the-Spirit enough like that sister over there.
“You are perfect in your season,” I told my sister. “Not perfect as in finished, with no growth left. But perfect as in what you should be in this season now. Growth comes from God and is not something you can achieve. You can only open to receive it…that’s how growth comes.”
That was my encouragement to her, and that is my encouragement to you, blog readers. The growth of a spirit and the work of the Holy Spirit in a life is gentle, like rain in its season. But for all its gentleness, there is nothing so sure, steady, and relentless as growth in fertile soil. Our job is to open and wait. And it is God who gives the increase.
So true and so beautiful!
Thank you, Luci! I still need that at 73! I’m not enough. But God is! Together it’s Enough!
Yes, amen!
So encouraging for a person who is 80 years old. (me) Bertha M.
Wonderful words of encouragement. We will never understand the nature of our Heavenly Father Creator God. Many theologians of every Faith both Christian and not, argue about who God is and where did he come to be? We have rules and guides to follow that promise us that we will see God some day We can’t but get weak in our faith at times thinking about our personal relationship with Jesus. It is a mystery that science can’t explain.
I feel like this was very timely for me! Like I had the same doubts nagging in the back of my head, unwilling to express themselves, that your sister did express. Thank you for sharing. :)
I’m so glad.
I feel the same way and am 72 years old. You would think this struggle would have been resolved by now. I feel very comforted by what you have written. Thank you.
Thank you for commenting, Dee.
Good and timely words!
A really good, short book on this subject is “You’re Not Enough (and That’s OK) by Allie Beth Stuckey.