... your growth is inevitable. Wherever you may be..., the growth is going to take place in some form or fashion. Each day that we arise from our sleep due to God’s blessing, we face the challenge of discovering how we are evolving and transforming to the being that God wants us to be.
‑‑ James R. Threalkill

Yesterday you were moved by fashion trends and celebrity news. Yesterday it was very important that your hair be fried, dyed, and laid to the side. Yesterday a burger, fries, and soft drink were sufficient meals. Yesterday there was no way you would have left the house in elastic waistbands. Yesterday your grandmother’s work shoes were hideous and old looking.

Yesterday you believed you needed only a few hours of sleep to be completely refreshed and ready for the next day, and that sleep-aids would rarely, if ever, be a needed part of your daily routine. Yesterday you believed that although your body may become less hale and hearty the longer you live, the need for more than a multivitamin would come far later in your life. Yesterday you made jokes about the people who had to wear bifocals, hearing aids, back braces, shoe implants, and support bras, girdles, socks, and panty hose.

Today, not only do you faithfully eat your daily allowance of fruits and vegetables, sleep a minimum of 8 hours, take a cocktail of prescribed medications, own a few pair of ugly but comfortable shoes, wear very stylish no-line bifocals, and sport only Gold Toe support socks, you rather take pride in how they’ve enhanced your life, and you could care less if the kids make comments and jokes about your add-ons and necessities.

You also take note that you’re now comfortable in your body and there’s no need to manically pine away for one that’s impossible to create. You realize you’re at ease with the way your smooth curves and sturdy build make you appear broad and healthy and even give you a stately presence, and you’re happy that your goal for exercising is no longer to lose weight, but to maintain a healthy heart rate and keep your bones and blood vessels robust and functioning properly.

You also marvel at how you once only did things that your mother, father, and family would approve of instead of considering your own needs and desires first. While you consider their opinions, your notions and beliefs are now what guide your final decisions. You also think about how you’ve recovered from the days when “yes” was the only answer from your mouth even though “no” was the answer on your mind. And you’ve found that the greatest thing in the world is your ability to not need to justify the way you live nor worry about the how others feel about you because of how you choose to live.

Today, it no longer appeals to you to be surrounded by people, things, or beliefs that bring little value to your life. You’ve easily, thoughtfully, and tactfully removed people from your circle who brought no light; given away the stuff you’ve held on to since you first acquired it some years ago, stuff that’s just taking up space; and revised or released the outdated beliefs you grew up with, built the first part of your life on, and that no longer serve you as you evolve further into the person God created you to be. You realize that life is too precious and brief to be crowded with all the things and people that keep you from experiencing joy, peace, newness, freshness, love, fulfillment, pleasure, happiness, and reaching your greatest potential. And again, you don’t justify and make excuses for your choices or worry about who cares or why.

Today you look, feel, and act differently than you did yesterday. When the transformations began occurring you resisted, felt nostalgia at giving up what used to be, and believed it mutiny to change who you were. But now, you are proud of who you are, excited by the changes, and can’t think of being anybody else but who you are now, enjoying the new places, people, feelings, and things you’ve welcomed into your life.

Bless yourself for who you are today.

And bless yourself for who you will evolve into tomorrow for growth, development, progression, and advancement thankfully never end.

Sadiqqa © 2007