I haven’t been publishing on the blog as much as in the past but I’m still writing every day.
This one felt worth sharing – I hope it resonates!
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I was sitting in church this morning and heard a verse for the first time; it got me thinking.
Proverbs 14:4
Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.
The downside of having oxen was that the manger was a mess; the upside was that the fields were plowed. This made a lot of sense to me because those who are willing to take ownership, embrace risks and do hard things are the same ones who experience the most growth, reap the rewards and tap into abundance.
Growing Project Endure over the past 3.5 years has been a practice in wading through the messiness that comes with building anything meaningful. There are stretches of time that seem to be nothing but problems, challenges and setbacks. It’s moments of reflection like this that help me keep going (endure) and accept the messiness that comes with plowing fields.
There still exists a part of me however that longs for a clean, spotless life; a manger without oxen. This is where I need to remind myself that life isn’t supposed to be easy, comfortable and clean. Things worth pursuing require us to wade through the mess.
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Looking back at past reflections, I realize that I’ve written on this topic before but with different words. To wrap this blog, I’ll share a quote that feels fitting and provides an encouragement to pursue growth.
“Growth isn’t this comfortable, miraculous thing. It can get ugly, it can get confusing. It’s gritty, it’s hard. It’s difficult to confront yourself sometimes; it’s difficult to be the person who does things differently, who doesn’t settle. But it’s the greatest gift you will ever give yourself. It will push you towards figuring out what your own personal version of happiness looks like; and when you grow on your own terms, when you figure out what actually matters to you, and when you carve out your own path, you live on your own terms. You love on your own terms. You become the person you have always wanted to be, rather than the person you were always told to be, and that is beautiful.“
Bianca Sparacino
Do hard things.
Joe Rinaldi
IG: @joearinaldi
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