Don’t just go through life, Grow through it!

Posted by erickahardy on Sep 9, 2011 in Daily Bread | 3 comments

I was reading the book of James when I came to the verse which says, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17 Reading this made me think about my life back to February 2006. I’d been working at Humana for almost 3 years, my career was going extremely well yet I felt absolutely empty. I was the girl in the office who smiled all the time, but inside I was miserable. I was just going through life. At that point, I knew I had to do something so I decided to fast and pray for guidance. During this period, I was approached by a company in Tampa, Fl and I decided to go for the interview. After a day full of interviews, I was informed that the job was mine if I wanted it. When I got back to Louisville, I had the daunting tasks of deciding do I leave a career that I enjoyed for the unknown and do I leave a place that I knew for the unfamiliar? After all, Tampa wasn’t where I really wanted to go. It was just the first opportunity that had presented itself. Then one night I thought to myself, there is one thing I do know and that is “I am not happy living here in Louisville.” The next day I walked into the office handed my boss a resignation letter and was prepared to move on to a new phase in my life. That’s when I was thrown a curve ball. Within an hour of resigning, I was given the option to stay with my current employer and work from home. This meant I could stay in the career that I loved and move to the city I wanted to in the 1st place. So here I am 5 years later living in Atlanta and I am no longer just going through life. I am growing through it! Now, I find myself telling strangers of my love for Christ and inviting everyone to get to know him. I’m so happy on the inside that I want others to experience the same joy. See during my growth, I realized that joy is much better than being happy. Happiness doesn’t last because your external circumstances can affect that. Whereas, I have joy even when times are tough. My joy comes from my relationship with Christ and what makes it so awesome is my joy cup will never deplete because Christ will outlast any obstacle in my life. Could I have learned this living elsewhere? Sure it could have! However, this to me confirmed that sometimes it takes some action on our part to get the blessings that God has promised all his children. So ask yourself, “Are you just going through life or are you growing through it?”