When Growth Hurts
I’ve been thinking of the concept of pruning as it relates to my own growth lately. For the last few years, the pruning has been painful. There have been so many parts of myself that I’ve needed to shed to become the Kelly that I am today. Sometimes, getting rid of our outdated and unhelpful patterns and behaviors can be challenging. It feels better and easier to cling to what we know than to decide to act differently and adopt new habits. In my own life, it has felt like the last few years were filled with experiences that forced me into the pruning process (whether I liked it or not). At some of my lowest lows, I had only one choice: to do something different. Were it not for those experiences, I’m not sure I’d be in the place I am right now. Sometimes, the pruning hurts.
It’s helped me to deal with it when I can recognize and name when I’m in the pruning process. Instead of being resistant or upset when life requires me to shed some stuff, I’ve learned to come to terms and accept the pruning for what it is. I’ve been through it enough times to know that what is on the other side of the growth is more beautiful than what I could have planned, predicted, or imagined. When I can just let it happen I can surrender to the growth rather than resisting it.
It can be uncomfortable to get to the place of acceptance. Most of us just want the pruning to be over. We want to wake up one day and feel different, without letting ourselves actually experience the growth. Growth is truly a process of becoming. And it happens over and over and over again, as many times as we need it to until we really get it.
The reality is, the pruning process can be ugly. We might not feel like ourselves, we might have to face parts of ourselves that we’ve buried for a while, and it’s uncomfortable to lose a few leaves and branches that we’ve been clinging to for the better part of our lives. But what is born from the pruning is always better than where we are now. Life asks us to level up over and over again. The invitation is always there to recognize when you need to do some pruning and shedding. It’s okay to accept when you are in that stage and still hold hope for what the future has for you. The pruning is painful, but when some things are cut out, you can more fully appreciate and recognize where you are being called to next.
In my own life, I’ve been asking God to give me peace when I’m in the middle of the pruning. I know that what God has for me is better than I could plan. Let us rest in that and find peace where we are right now. ❤️
