Grown – Verb. Past particle of the word grow; to increase by natural development.

Groan – Verb. To make a deep inarticulate sound in response to pain or despair.

Grown by Groans – Process of life; to develop and progress through the difficult and trying times.

 

Doesn’t it feel like sometimes you, or someone you know, have to hit rock bottom before things will change? Or maybe you look back on those times in life where you were barely able to pay the bills or barely passing in school. When it seemed like everything in life was going wrong but you managed to get through that and that those times shaped you to be the person that you are today.

 

Nobody wants to struggle. Heck, most people don’t even want to admit that they are struggling. Social Media continues to rise and with that rise is the desire to create an image around yourself that you want others to see. Deep down, I think you want your old high school best friend to envy the life you live and you want to be viewed like you have things put together, not to look like you are floundering. Maybe you go look at your old high school friend’s social media to make you feel better about the life you’re living. Maybe you think, “Hey at least I’m not doing as bad as them.” We all want to have a photo shopped version of our “perfect” little lives that fit into an Instagram square, but the only thing we can really count on in life is that sometimes fit hits the shan.

 

But the truth is, every single one of us will face tough times in life. It is the one guarantee that I can give you. And while that may sound bleak and dark, some of the most important lessons you will learn in life are taught in the dark times. Sometimes we are grown by our groans.

 

Probably one of, if not the most overrated singers of all time in my opinion, is Kelly Clarkson. Yeah, her songs may be catchy and get stuck in your head but I can’t stand them. I find them to be extremely annoying. However, she does have this one song that is actually quite profound when you stew on it; “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” It is those difficult times that turn us into the people we are. Those times in the depths of despair show us what really matters in life, who really matters in life. Deep, dark times will show us how fragile this life is and how lucky and blessed we actually are.

 

 

When these dark times come, when our groans come we have a plethora of responses to them but it really boils down to 2 categories: You can be grown by your groans or you can be paralyzed by your groans. What doesn’t kill you can make you stronger or what doesn’t kill you can slowly drown you. It is about how you approach these dark times. It’s a new year, and with that new year comes a sense of expectation and a sense of change. However, this year will most likely bring about trying times as well. It will bring some groans in your life, things that you aren’t expecting. May you be made stronger by the tough times, may you learn from the depths of despair, and may you be grown by your groans.

 

Shalom friends,