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The first paragraph of this post is not for the faint of heart!

Have you ever watched someone get a shot? Do you remember getting an immunization? You know how people tend to tense up when getting the shot? Probably one of the more difficult parts of parenting is watching your young children getting immunized. It is so heartbreaking to have to hold them steady so they can get the immunization. Especially when they cry. You’re left with this sense of guilt that you took part in causing them pain. In spite of some arguments to the contrary, the immunization are for their own good. We have been fortunate with our children that they did not have any reactions to the immunizations. I know of a lot of adults who would like to have the freedom to react like children during shots. I admit that they don’t feel the best. But overall, it is for our own good. And… it would be so much easier if we would just relax.

Now, have you ever known that you need to grow in a particular area? Have you known beforehand that the growth would be difficult and, in a lot of ways, painful? I am standing on that precipice now as I write this. I know that I have some more growth to make. Just thinking of it causes me to tense up and to resist the idea of what I have to do. Some of that tension is also fear of the unknown. Some of that tension is because of the length of timeit should take. You see, as much as I know what I need to do at the beginning, I have no idea where it will lead, and what I will have to do along the way.

Luckily, I know that I won’t have to be on this growth “adventure” on my own. I have the support of my wife, children, and close friends. In some ways, they will be in the role of holding me down, similar to what I had to go through with my children and their immunizations. I know it is for my own good, and it would probably be much easier if I would just relax. Yeah right–like that’s going to happen.

So as I undertake this journey, I am certain that I will learn and experience, as well as encounter challenges and defeats.

But it’s for my own good, right?!

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