New life is blooming all around us. Especially now, we see evidence of it. What once seemed dead from the dark of winter, starts to show the smallest of growth.

Sometimes that growth happens quickly and there are big changes in a short amount of time….

This picture was taken just a week after the first – so much growth had occurred it surprised me!

And today I am thinking about the growth and change that has happened to me over the past 6 months. I am humbled that I was given the chance to be a part of this God Sized Dream team.

When I initially saw the  email with the opportunity to apply, I had no idea I would be chosen, and no concept of how much this process would change me.

Initially I was asked what I thought God’s dream for me was. I believed it was to have a space to encourage other women, share my own failures and offer hope to a fuller life with Christ.

Believe me when I tell you, just because I feel that is ultimately my dream…doesn’t mean that I have it all together! I don’t set myself out as an expert in doing it right, because I struggle to maintain my own life well most days! 🙂

But what I have discovered is that in this process of growth  there is also a dying as well.

On the ground all around the bush photographed above were blooms that had already fallen off.

You see I believe that to grow, there also has to be a dying of ones self. We can’t keep all the “old” if we want to be made new.

That is one of the biggest things that I have discovered about myself. That I have to be willing to let go of some of my old behaviors and defense mechanisms, if I want to be able to share honestly about God’s redeeming Grace and change in my life.

I have to shed those parts of me so that even more beautiful “fruit” can grow.

So while I had hoped to be farther along after 6 months than I am today, I believe that I am right where I am supposed to be.

While it was my hope to encourage others with my faith journey, I have found a group of women who have met that exact need in me. Something I wasn’t expecting at all, and a gift that means more to me than seeing the fulfillment of my own heart’s desires.

Yes this process has changed me. And I am so grateful for it.

What happens next?? Hopefully more growth, more opportunities to share how God has changed me and ultimately a space here to continue to share all of the mercies He has shown me. God is good ALL the time and I want to continue to shout that here!

What “season” do you find yourself in right now??

Join me in seeing how God has answered prayers and grown dreams by reading about the blessings other fellow dreamers have seen here.