A Flower in the Desert
There is a point of intense growth that is incredibly uncomfortable. It feels awkward. It feels like being stretched. It feels like being tempered, toward both beauty and strength. Iron is tempered for strength and chocolate is tempered for a smooth creamy texture that just melts. Oh forget it, chocolate is tempered to be eaten with a glass of red wine in hand.... Growth is hard, and maturity comes through being tempered. Most people I meet never guess that I am as old as I am (41) by the way I look and generally the guesses are nearly a decade younger (33). However when I recently met up with a woman I first met in high school, she remarked about how much I have lived and the extent to which I have endured challenges. Those experiences have given me a great deal of wisdom, and through those challenges I have walked beside others as they traversed similar circumstances. Growth is messy. The outside of a seed has to soften and, in some cases, disintegr...