DARE TO BE: A Work in Progress

So for those who don't know, we started back to class... and let me tell you, I'm already ready to throw in the towel and say "forget it". With that being said, this week I have spent a lot of my time busy and trying to adjust to my new lifestyle as a "normal" person (even though everyone who knows me knows I'm the farthest thing from that), and it has been interesting to say the least. First of all, even though I'm busy working as a physical therapy technician and a resident assistant and going to class, I just always feel like there's something else that I need to be doing. Even though I have all of these distractions, I still feel like I have a lot of free time that I don't really know what to do with. So during this free time, I've had a lot of time to think about myself, where I want to go in this next phase of my life, and who I want to grow and become as this chapter of volleyball closes and this new, mysterious, and unknown chapter begins. Needless to say, all of the voices in my head are saying:

And yes, I know that most of y'all are thinking, "Bri, you know exactly what you're doing next. You're the girl with the plan. Quit trying to act like you don't." And in a sense you're right. I've always known that the end-game for me was going to PT school and becoming a physical therapist. But, I also thought that, even though I knew my volleyball career would have to come to an end some day, that the end wouldn't come so soon. Also, even though I have always found the majority of my worth in my faith and in Christ, I'd be lying if I said that my ability to perform on the court did not hold weight on how I viewed myself and how valuable I was, even in aspects of my life that didn't involve volleyball. Playing volleyball ( especially at the collegiate level on a successful team) gave me a confidence and a swagger that's hard to define... and now that I am officially retired, that confidence in myself is the one thing that I have a hard time finding now. Now, I'm not saying that my self-esteem is at an all-time low or that I'm struggling with self worth. It's honestly just feels like I'm trying to look in the Magic Mirror and it's super mysterious and foggy. And for those that know me, the unknown is something that I don't like AT ALL. But, as I said, I have l learned that this is a season of growth and PROGRESS, so that's what we're REALLY going to be talking about today.

Most of the time, I feel like there is a stigma around the phrase "work in progress". In today's society, it seems like everyone is extremely afraid to let people know that they aren't as "picture perfect" as they would like people to believe. So many are scared to be vulnerable and allow people to know that they don't have everything figured out, because most of the time people view that to be a weakness. Like it isn't okay to not have life figured out even though we've hardly lived it! Even I fall into this trap. I always tend to think "incomplete" or "not finished" when I hear "work in progress", which tend to be taken negatively even though these phrases are anything but. What people, including myself fail to remember is that being a work in progress is actually one of the best things that you can be. If you go look up the synonyms for "work in progress" a lot of the words you will find are "continuing", "growing", "successful", "advancing", "developing", "evolving", "heading", "in process", "marching", "unfolding".

Now tell me.... do any of those words sound negative? Would you not want to be described as being any of those words? Because I will tell you this, if you aren't growing or progressing in some way, then you are either stagnant (which rarely happens) or your REGRESSING. And I promise you, I know that after the amount of work we have all put into ourselves to be the people we are now, I doubt that anyone wants to go back to the person that they've grown from. So with that being said, don't worry about not being perfect, or not being at the steps in life that the people around you are at. We're all living our lives at the pace that we're meant to and events happen to us in the way that God planned. So whether you are single, in a relationship, or married. Whether you're working, going to school, or looking for that next step in your life. Whether you're living at home, on campus, or in your own house. DON'T compare your life to those around you. Just because you're at Step 1 does not make you any less successful that those around you. But, when you compare your Step 1 to someone else's Step 5, nothing positive tends to come from that. Your journey is YOURS and yours alone, and there's nothing wrong with the pace you're going at or even when you decide to start. Because I will tell you this, you starting whatever journey to self improvement that your starting is doing way more than someone who hasn't decided to take that leap into improvement and the discomfort that comes along with it. So be gentle with yourselves, my friends. Embrace the process of growth and improvement and the fact that you aren't where you're meant to be or who you're meant to be yet. Because just imagine the pride and happiness you'll feel when you reach your potential and become the person that God has planned for you to be!

So, I'd like to leave you with a couple of verses to help you remember that its OKAY to not be perfect. We weren't chosen or made to be perfect. We were made to be loved and molded by an amazing God and we were chosen because of the fact that we AREN'T perfect. That's what makes us human. And that in and of itself is beautiful. So DARE TO BE A WORK IN PROGRESS THIS WEEK. Embrace your growth and love the person you are and the person you have yet to become!

VERSES:

Philippians 3:12-14: Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 4:15: but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

2 Corinthians 3:18: But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.