Stunted Growth vs Accelerated Growth
A throwback to my journey made me realize that it indeed takes a village for a man to grow and succeed in life. How did I arrive there?
I was writing a birthday post for one of my friends, and as I ruminated how she has been immensely helpful on my journey, I came to the conclusion that it indeed takes a village for anyone to grow and succeed in life. When I mention in life, I meant every part of your life, your lifestyle, your relationship, career, work life, everything.
You will notice that I didn’t mention that your spiritual life is an aspect of your life, yes, because it is not. It should be the tree from which every area of your life stems from, the foundation upon which your life is built.
Talking about a village, I don’t mean your “village people” I meant a group of people who are committed to helping you grow and become all that God wants you to become.
As much as we may want to claim self-made, or self-built, we should never forget or edit out the part everybody played in our life to get to where we are.
When God made man, he knew that man couldn’t live on his own, so he made a woman and gave them the command to be fruitful and multiply.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:26–27
So you see, God indeed brings people around our life at different points in time for our growth, and we have the option of either choosing to grow or remain where we are. Now, because the people are meant to help us grow doesn’t mean that they will always come wearing a badass two-piece suit.
They can come in the form of the lousy bus conductor or agbero to teach you basic things like patience or self-control, or in the form of a friend having a random conversation that would spur you to take action for your growth or in the form of an extended relative who gives you a room in their house during your service year, the list is endless.
Like I always say, YOU are the thin line between where you are and where you want to be. If you commit to opening your heart to receive counsel and support from the right people, you will grow compared to another person who desperately wants to be self-made. Yes, because NOBODY is self-made and nobody should be.
A self-made man can end up with stunted growth or grow at a much slower pace compared to the man who accepts that everyone around him has a role to play in his becoming.
For example, remember that primary school science experiment we did, where we had to plant beans in a tin cup with cotton wool? Do you ever wondered what would have happened if the beans were left in a container where they belong? Yes, they would grow but not at the same rate as the bean seedling that had exposure to water, sunlight and manure. If care is not taken they may never germinate because the lack what is needed for survival and growth
Remember, what matters more to God is how you live your life and how well you utilize the resources at your disposal. Unlike bean seedlings, you have the power to choose between stunted growth and accelerated growth.
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