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Reflecting on Growth

  • Ginger McPherson
  • July 15, 2022
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If you ever have the opportunity to visit my house and climb the tall staircase that leads to a corridor where three modest doors swing open, you’ll probably catch a glimpse of pencil lines. They’re scrawled across each bedroom door jamb. They appear as horizontal tally marks inching their way up the wood like notches on an old leather belt.

Next to each pencil line, a scribbled number can also be read—age 2, age 5, age 7. These lines, after all, tell the physical growth of my children. And yet for me, they also tell of mealtimes and playtime, of laughter and tears, of dream-filled nights and demanding yet soul-gratifying days. They keep a record of our lives together.

And in seeing them, I wonder, why is it so easy to measure physical growth like this year after year, yet measuring my spiritual growth is something I so often forget to do?

When was the last time you deliberately looked back on your spiritual journey to see how far you’ve come? When have you let hindsight offer wisdom? When has retrospection paved the way for encouragement or propelled you toward even greater spiritual growth?

In 2 Peter 3:18, we’re told to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” We’re also told to “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). However, both of these happen best when we pause and contemplate the progress we’ve made thus far.

So, let me challenge you today. Take a few minutes and think about your history with God. Where has He shown up in your life? How has He grown your character, revealed your identity in Christ, kept you safe, or used you to bring comfort to others?

It’s never wasted time to reflect. Rather, it’s how we see His unending faithfulness—faithfulness He pours out again and again and again.

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Ginger McPherson

Ginger McPherson is a writer, Bible teacher, and pastor’s wife in Oklahoma who traded her busy life as a college professor for a spaghetti-stained apron and the full-time role of stay-at-home mom for her three littles (7, 5, and 3). When she’s not trying out a new recipe or attempting to grow vegetables in her modest suburban backyard, you can find her scribbling down words, one at a time wherever she can. Her passion and prayer are for God to use those words to encourage others by filling them with His hope, faith, and immeasurable grace. To read more, check out her website at glmcpherson.com or follow her on Instagram.

1 comment
  1. Abigail says:
    July 16, 2022 at 10:23 am

    This is so good. I love 2 Peter 3:18. I was just chatting on that verse this week with my girlfriends. Can our friends see our growth, or our husbands? “Be diligent in these matters;” Paul told Timothy, “give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.” Little by little, by grace, we grow.

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