The Acorn Becomes an Oak Tree: God's PROCESS of Transformation

My favorite Christian teacher, Dr Bruce Morgan, used to say, all the time; and it is my expereince as well:

• Some churches/fellowships will want you to be in their box, so much so that they are willing to cut off your arms and legs to make you fit.
• But, God calls us to be ourselves!
   
• You are God's own Special Nut!
• The acorn becomes an oak tree - let's come to our maturity (whole and complete as ourselves), as God uniquely made us to be (the greek word is teleios, see http://biblesuite.com/greek/5046.htm ) 
• This wonderful word meaning whole and complete, coming to our maturity is sometimes translated perfect: "ye shall therefore be perfect, as your Father who is in the heavens is perfect."

I have been aware of, and in intellectual alignment with this re-framing of perfection for decades now. I am called to be me, whole and complete in God.
But it takes time to ALLOW the God's perspective, true spiritual reality to deeply sink-in - it is taking me and God Lots of time.

"be not conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind"

We live in a world that expects and rewards idealized perfection - it is our culture.  And perspecitve this is increasing through ubiquitous advertising (programming) that tells us, YOU ARE NOT OK... so:
- buy this product/service, so you can fit-in, be happy, get-by, and
- work very hard, be successful on every level, so you can be an acceptable, love-worthy human; and so you can afford products/services : )

Many of us learned at home, that we weren't ENOUGH.
I grew up in a home:

• in which I was told I had to be (model) beautiful to be loved,
• in which 'looking good' was the practice,
• in which trying to be an idealized perfection was the goal,
• in which earning A's on my report card was an expected default - being exemplary = average,
• in which I was trained that the reason my father bullied and beat me was because I was bad and I did it wrong (that was a lie; his rage was his addiction, not my fault).

So, this transition to BEING OK, as I am, where I am;
Experiencing that what I am doing, thinking, seeing, knowing, saying, feeling is OK;
Knowing that I am beautiful, loved, and perfect in God... is taking a long time.

It takes many of us a long time to overcome the lies we are schooled in, the programming, habits, pain, fear that we have learned, that we have lived.

In my spiritual practice of allowing the EXPERIENCE of God's love for me, spiritually allowing-in that I am OK, valuable, valid, whole and complete in God...  Heals me and helps me BE and DO in the world in more and more freedom and joy.

Sometimes it feels like God's transforming of me and my life is taking forever.  But when I am seeing clearly, I look back from where I've come, and I am amazed at the miraculous journey.

I pray you are:

• Hopeful and moving along in your PROCESS of Transformation that God is bringing you though. 
• Knowing that You are God's Own Special Nut.
• Allowing God to grow you up into the Great Oak that you Are, from the small Acorn that you used to be.
• Hearing God's call for you to Be Yourself.

in life, wendy