Ep 146 A Legacy of Spiritual Growth: 3 Things to Keep Us On the Right Track

2022-08-07

With our backs up against the doorframe, our shoulders arched, we stood tall while Dad placed a ruler across the top of our heads, scraped the pencil back and forth, and added the date. “Look at that,” he’d say, “You are officially taller than your sister (or brother or mom.) Clapping each other on the back, we congratulated ourselves for something we had nothing to do with, and asked for another piece of cake. “Who’s tallest?” had more to do with DNA than if we took our vitamins (or ate more cake.) Growing happened to us, not because of us.

With our backs up against the doorframe, our shoulders arched, we stood tall while Dad placed a ruler across the top of our heads, scraped the pencil back and forth, and added the date. “Look at that,” he’d say, “You are officially taller than your sister (or brother or mom.) Clapping each other on the back, we congratulated ourselves for something we had nothing to do with, and asked for another piece of cake.

“Who’s tallest?” had more to do with DNA than if we took our vitamins (or ate more cake.) Growing happened to us, not because of us.

Pencil marks and dates faded with time and new paint. No longer did we measure. No longer did it matter. What does matter is my spiritual growth. It’s a goal worth pursuing.

God invites me to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1). He had maturity in mind when He created us. God loves us as we are, but too much to let us stay there.

Can a ‘worthy’ life be measured with a pencil and a list? Not really. Some days the mark on the wall shows one thing but my life shows another. I wish all it took was a list. I know how to check things off. But I get discouraged when the same things end up back on the list

I still like to make lists but this is a different kind of list—a short list of three things to keep me on track for growth. I don’t mind that I never get to cross them off til Glory.

I don’t expect to reach a plateau and think: “I am now all grown up.” But keeping these three things in mind keeps me on the right track:

KEEP SHORT ACCOUNTS

KEEP A LONG MEMORY

KEEP A QUIET HABIT

Hear more on the podcast on how to keep on a spiritual growth track.

I refer to the God is Faithful party where we remember how God's been faithful in the past. Click HERE to get a list of all 25 Theme Gathering Ideas

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