Growing by Cody Boone

When I was a kid growing up all I wanted to do was grow. I have an older brother, and all I wanted to do was hang out with his friends and do what he did because I thought that older was cooler. Growing was the cool thing to do because it meant more responsibility. The only thing I worried about being was older. However, as I look back at where I have been in my life, I realized that growing means much more than just being a year older. Growing has to come from within. Growing has to be a maturing with your mind, spirit, personality, and yourself as a whole. As young kids, we would cry if we didn’t get our way, or at least I sure did. But as we get older and mature, we know that it’s important to learn that we aren’t always going to get what we want when we want it. That reigns true in all aspects of life and I am a prime example.

This past summer I, unfortunately, tore my labrum playing summer baseball in a collegiate league. I pitched a good amount in the spring with my school team, but I got greedy and wanted to pitch all summer. As the summer progressed, I had another choice to make; go home and rest my arm or keep throwing. I decided to keep throwing and ended up tearing my labrum with a week left to go during summer ball. The way I looked at it was why is this happening to me, why do bad things happen to good people, why does God feel the need that I am the one who needs to get injured. Turns out I had some growing to do.

As an immature 20-year-old at the time, I took everything that I had for granted. I had good roommates, a great team, great coaches, a great support system and a great family. However, I needed spiritual maturing. I was doing things that I knew I shouldn’t have been doing, and God put me in my place. While recovering from surgery I knew that something had to change. I put myself and my ego aside and prayed for guidance. It didn’t come right away, as I still struggled through a tough fall semester, but it all came around I the spring when I really started to trust God’s plan for me.It’s extremely hard to put yourself aside, but it’s an extremely mature thing to do as well. Since God has matured me and forced me to grow up and face my problems, I am the happiest, most focused, and most mature I have ever been. While it’s hard to grow up and realize that you’re not a kid anymore, letting go and letting God mature you will be one of the most beneficial decisions you will ever make.