Growth is a lifetime journey. While certainly there are many milestones we can celebrate along the way, there’s a sense in which we never arrive and we’re always on the way. There is always more we can grow in our practice of love and in becoming better versions of ourselves.
Of course, we don’t expect to stay in school forever. It’s reasonable to pursue graduation while seeking to put a particular season of learning behind us. But, in many ways, a commencement ceremony is the mark of a new beginning. The end of an academic career is still just the beginning of a life of learning and application.
And certainly this is true throughout the rest of our life and relationships as well.
For instance, while we generally spend a lot of time getting to know each other while we’re dating, there’s still more to learn even after our wedding day and decades into our marriage. There’s always more to discover.
And even after years perfecting our craft and how we can use our strength to bring more life and goodness into the world, there’s still more we can develop, refine, and improve. There’s always room to continue perfecting our gifts.
Likewise, there’s always more we can grow in our capacity to love. Even when we love better than most, we’ve not yet arrived because our standard is being conformed into the image of Christ himself. And this is not a journey we fully complete in this life.
To be sure, this is not a point of resignation – giving up because we can never arrive. But it is to check our pride whenever we start assuming there’s nothing more for us to learn or grow into.
Enjoy every milestone of growth along the way. Your hard work is worthy of celebration. And remember there’s always room to continue growing and maturing into God’s best.
Photo by Baim Hanif on Unsplash
