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Happy August my friends! I pray you guys are staying safe and making the most out of this very peculiar time. Most of us have been working and still living life as normal as we can right now, but I am sure we can all admit to having more down time. If you are anything like me, I just hate going out in the heat and wearing the mask, so I just chill out. It is a good thing, but because I am a thinker, I have had way too much time to do a lot of that!

It seems that this year I have been asking myself a lot of questions. I have been known to be a little inquisitive, but usually with others, not myself! I was looking through my journal and I saw lots of questions that I have written down so that I could put my thoughts on paper. Some I answered in the moment, some I have yet to answer. I began to wonder why I had so many questions, then I realized it was because I am on a journey. A journey of self-discovery. A journey of evolution.

I looked up the definition of evolution and it means “To grow or develop gradually, especially from a simple to a more complex form.” The Latin form of this word means “to unroll or unravel.” Some synonyms are to progress, produce, advance, mature, and expand. All of these things seem to be happening to me simultaneously, but at different levels. I am quite sure this is the same for you as well. During this pandemic most of us have been almost forced to grow, change, or adapt in many areas. Change is about the only constant in life. We can do it willingly or by force. If you think for a second, I am sure you can think of a few areas where you have evolved recently as well! Look at you, sis!

The questions I have been asking myself have forced me to think on a deeper level and even challenge myself to figure out why I feel or think the way I do. However, that is a part of evolving. It involves asking ourselves the hard questions and finding out who we really are at our core so that we can show up as our authentic selves. It means working through challenges and situations that mature us and cause us to develop a depth in our thought processes. It equips us, progresses us, and causes us to produce fruit. We all want to be fruitful right? That’s kinda what we were created to do. Remember in the last post I stated that we were created to be fruitful and multiply and how it was not just concerning having children? We were created to live a life that draws others to Christ and multiplies the kingdom of God. That requires participation in growth and evolution.

I was reminded of a passage of scripture in John 15:1-5(NLT) where Jesus tells us about producing fruit. He says “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” Jesus is explaining to us how God prunes us, or removes branches that don’t bear fruit. Those things or people that are not conducive to our purpose or who we are and things that hinder us from being who we were called to be. This happens through our circumstances, relationships, or elements of our environment that cause us to evaluate ourselves and provoke change. It makes room for good fruit.

Jesus tells us that we have been given the word that shows us the model, but we have to stay connected to Him in order to produce fruit. Willpower will not do it, counseling alone will not do it, wise counsel from friends will not do it. We must stay connected through prayer in order to do this. He is quick to tell us that apart from Him we can do NOTHING! I can’t imagine doing it without Him. Evolution is painful, because it is pruning. It’s peeling back layers. Evolution is a process, and sometimes a process that has to be walked out with just you and God. It requires our permission. It requires us to submit to how He wants to approach our evolution specifically to us, which can be soooo difficult because we have to relinquish our control. But, when I think about a barren tree that produces fruit, to me when the fruit appear on the tree, it is an unveiling. It is a testament of what that tree had endure in order for others to see the glory. An opportunity to marvel at it’s sight and be able to be a partaker of what it has produced.

The illustration that came to mind was an art exhibit. Art is known as a symbol of beauty. Typically art or statues are unveiled at exhibits. There is usually a covering over the art until it is ready to be presented to the partakers of the event. This is after it has gone through the mistakes, chiseling, molding, pressure, and setting process. No one sees what that piece of art had to endure for us to behold it’s beauty. That is how our evolution looks. We all have our own individual evolution process, and only the divine artist knows how the finished product will look. Art is all about perception. What I may see as beautiful, you may see it as unattractive, and vice versa. However, it is so good to know that our creator sees us as BEAUTIFUL from beginning to end!!

I pray that we begin to embrace our evolution. I am thankful for God’s grace and mercies that are always there to help us endure. I pray that we give ourselves grace and acknowledge our healthy growth as we press towards what we are called to be in Christ. Father, we thank you for the beauty for our ashes, as you have promised. We believe that you make all things beautiful in it’s time and you make all things work together for our good because we love you. We are thankful that because you have began a GREAT work in us, you are faithful to complete us in every aspect. Amen! Meet you back here next month!

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