Today I spent the day at a church in Deal at a conference about discipleship and mission, it was a great day which I’m sure I’ll tell you more about as I start a journey with our church. Whilst there I bumped into a couple of friends who I hadn’t seen for a long time. They were slightly taken aback and were trying to work out what ‘the difference’ was. Was it the lack of glasses, the curly hair? By the end of the day one of the ladies said ‘you’ve turned from a girl into a woman’! I was slightly shocked and a little perplexed by this statement – especially as I’ve only known her since I was in my 20’s and therefore an adult but then I got thinking…

A lot has changed for me, but I do actually think I have matured. I’m not quite sure why this is but it has happened in numerous ways.

1. Responsibility. I have started to take responsibility for my life. Whether that is food choices, exercise, my work, my health, my relationships, my spiritual life. I’ve mentioned before that I used to make a lot of excuses, I would always find blame in someone or something else. This year it’s clicked, there is only one person who is responsible for my life and that is me. Once I realised I had that responsibility I have taken on that responsibility – with some vigour as well!
2. Reflection. I have looked at what I do and whether what I do works. If it does work, I try to work out why. Similarly if it doesn’t work I try to work out why. Then I try to change it or continue in a similar way.
3. Reaction. The way I respond to things has changed. I was a fantastic stropper, if something happened that I didn’t like I would sulk. But I never did anything about it, I let it fester, I let it affect relationships. I think this is possibly where I’ve made the most amount of growth, but also where there is still a lot of room for development. I am getting much better at processing things, and then telling people if something has upset me, or trying to work out what part I had to play in the process as well. Trying to work out a solution, rather than sulking or moaning. Honesty sometimes is the best policy – the learning curve when it’s trying to be honest in a loving and constructive way – but I guess that’s a whole blog in itself!

Growing up doesn’t just happen when you hit a certain age. It continues as we mature and although I may have shrunk physically this year – (I’ve even gone down a shoe size) I have definitely grown as a person, in my relationships, and in my spiritual walk. I continue to enjoy the journey and after today continue to be excited for what God has in store.