Tuesday, November 22, 2011

the art of change.

to fight the stagnant.

there is an art to change.

and the secret is not in the pursuit of it. or in it's accomplishment.

but rather in the art of perceiving it.


* * *

you have moved. you have grown. you have changed.

you have improved. you have become strengthened. you have learned.

you have seen. you have been. you have said.

you have created. you have chosen life. you have ended death.

you have become more beautiful. you have grown into yourself. you are more.

there is an art to observing the change you have made.

there is an art to knowing your growth, and ending the lie in your bones that says you are right where you always have been.

it is worth your time to document your movement forward. it is worth the hour of your day to know what you have done with your time.

sometimes we must move into our past, in order to accurately see our present.

create a place on the page, in the journal, on the blog, in the portfolio, on the table, in your soul. create a place to document your change.


* * *


look at your first month of blog entries.

look at your journal from three years ago.

look at your first photos.

do you see the movement?


write down the lies you used to believe.

write down the truth you know now.

write down the part of your heart you hadn't met 5 years ago.

do you see the growth?

find your first pieces of art.

find your first songs.

find your first designs.

do you see your progress?

think about the mistakes you've made that will not be made again.

think about the depth of character that was lacking 10 years ago.

think about the hidden places of the old depression.

do you see the new life?

sift through your albums, your archives, your chapters.

sift through your resumes, your childhood, your classes.

sift through your failures, your accomplishes, your proofs of action.

know the growth reflected in the dissonance between the past and present - know that your present will always be your past, and soon.


* * *


he says he is faithful. to move, to carry, to nurture, to redeem, to assign purpose. he is faithful to carry onto completion the good work he began in you.

you cannot help but grow. he has not forsaken us. like a tree beside still waters, you could not cease to grow even if you so desired.

because he is the great i am.

and in him we live, we move, we have our being.


* * *


refuse the lie of stagnancy. refuse the lie of stillness. refuse the lie of hopelessness.

document your change. be encouraged. and continue to move.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

(a) thank you for the reminder. in the midst of the a horrible year of my life, i stopped journalling. i used to write to work through emotions and thoughts i couldn't otherwise do. it was so therapeutic. and then my ex- (i.e. the horrible year) read them all one day while i was at work and accused me of being so self-centered all i did was write about my emotions. i knew it was ok to write, but i felt so violated i couldn't bring myself to do it anymore. some days i don't regret not having the rest of that year on paper, but one day, i found some old emails exchanged between me and the guy. reading them two years later, i was shocked to see what i let him say, what i accepted, and how i responded. oh how much i had grown and changed since then! i then missed not having all those thoughts down on paper. i've struggled since then, sometimes i write, but not nearly as much as i used to. thank you for the reminder.

(b) you should make the first 5 lines of this post into something graphic, something pretty, something nice to put on our fridges. just sayin' ...

Elizabeth said...

Most of this year I thought I was just going constantly backwards... but your words "write down the parts of your heart that you hadn't met 5 years ago", and as I'm FINALLY (by God's grace only) closing the door on a relationship, I'm learning how much God was revealing my true heart to me. And how much my will power has never gotten me anywhere.. It was always Him carrying me, even in my rebellion, He had it all under control! And this revelation is making me fall in love with Him even more! Over this past year your twitter and blog posts have been the only relevant streams of water on my aching heart. THANK YOU for feeding me when I struggle to go to the fountain!!

Anonymous said...

This is beautiful. Exactly what I needed. Things are changing as we speak - my heart, my mind, the way I see things. This is incredible: "like a tree beside still waters, you could not cease to grow even if you so desired. because he is the great i am. and in him we live, we move, we have our being."

Such truth. It's also scary sometimes to look back, esp in a journal or diary because sometimes the only change is having gone full circle - and that's not always healthy. When we are changing and moving in the Great Creator's care, I find then we're really changing. Otherwise we're just bumbling along.

kelly summers said...

absolutely beautiful. this is something i needed to hear now and have needed to hear for a while. sometimes i get so down on myself for not doing or being *more*
thank you for the reminder that i'm moving and growing and changing and progressing.

Tara said...

Beautiful!! I needed this reminder today. Thank you. God bless!

Jemima said...

this is so beautiful and it speaks to my soul,much love and blessings!

Anonymous said...

Well done. Love it.

Anonymous said...

I needed this.yes.

Lauren Francis said...

so great. i needed this at this exact moment. divine.

april said...

Love this so much. I'm so glad I've stumbled upon your writings.

Nics Cahill said...

This brought tears to my eyes, thank you. The enemy tries so hard to steal our progress by reminded us what we haven't done, focusing on what we have is so wonderful. Blessings and thanks to you Lauren. Nics

Allison said...

This is exactly what I needed to hear right now- thank you for your honesty. <3

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Anonymous said...

I love this post. I first read it a few days ago and have since glanced back at my first blog posts, songs, poems, etc, as you suggested. Thank you for the encouragement and such open writing.
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busana muslim said...

Thanks lot for this useful article, nice post

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