Growing Pains
Growing Pains
“Change is often excruciatingly uncomfortable — but so too is staying locked into deadened patterns of decay.”
Does it feel good to grow? Not especially.
As we embark on the journey into our adult bodies, we pass through physical phases often referred to as growth spurts. And let’s be honest — they don’t feel good. Our limbs stretch. Our bones ache. New teeth emerge. The body pulls and pushes its way into something new. How do we go from a 20-inch newborn to a full-grown adult well over 65 inches tall?
That’s a lot of stretching. A lot of moving parts. A lot of change.
The physical aspect of human growth is obvious — we can see it. But what happens when we stop growing physically? Surely, that doesn’t mean we’re done growing.What About the Growth We Can't See?
Beyond our physical development lies a much more elusive — and often more painful — form of transformation: emotional and spiritual growth.
Unlike physical growth, which often fades into distant childhood memories, emotional and spiritual growth shows up loud and clear. It doesn’t hide in sleep cycles or subtle changes in appetite. It hits us with grief, sadness, anxiety, fear, confusion, and loss. These are the growing pains we can’t measure with a scale or tape.
And yet… these are the moments that shape us most.
Pain as the Catalyst for Growth
Whether it comes from tragedy, transition, or a quiet inner nudge, discomfort is almost always the catalyst for growth.
In our formative years, we don’t remember the bone-deep aches of physical growth. But emotional and spiritual pain? We remember that. It lingers. It teaches. And often, it invites us into something greater — if we’re willing to listen.
And that’s where the choice comes in.
Two Paths Forward
When pain surfaces, we usually stand at a crossroads:
Resist it. Escape through distraction — social media, alcohol, food, work, gambling, relationships — anything to avoid sitting with discomfort.
Walk through it. Choose to stay present. To breathe. To accept the moment exactly as it is. To enter the classroom of life and learn the lesson.
It’s never easy. But it’s always worth it.
The Soul’s Curriculum
It’s easy to believe pain is something to avoid. But what if it’s not?
What if the soul calls in discomfort — not to punish us, but to wake us up?
To break patterns that no longer serve. To shake us loose from stagnation. To remind us we’re here to evolve.
When we allow ourselves to walk through the fire of transformation, we often emerge stronger, clearer, and more aligned than ever before.
The Takeaway: Will You Repeat or Rise?
Every painful experience carries a choice:
👉 Will we numb out and delay the lesson, only to repeat it again later?
👉 Or will we accept the discomfort, move through it, and grow?
Growth is never comfortable. But staying stuck in familiar patterns that no longer serve us? That might be even more painful in the long run.
So here’s the invitation:
Feel it. Face it. Let it teach you.
And when you do, you’ll find that even the hardest moments were guiding you home to yourself.
