Grow in Grace

Tag: #Godsplan

  • Twelve Years to Whole

    Twelve Years to Whole

    By: Wendy Morris

    “And you are complete in Him.” — Colossians 2:10

    For a long time, I viewed the last twelve years as a waiting season.

    Twelve years since my divorce. Twelve years of healing, rebuilding, surrendering, and learning how to trust God again. Twelve years of hoping that perhaps the next chapter would bring the husband, best friend, and partner I still desire.

    But lately, something has shifted in me.

    I realized that I no longer feel as though my life is waiting to begin. I don’t feel incomplete because I’m single. I’m not searching for someone to rescue me, fill an empty space, or give me the peace I’ve been longing for.

    My life feels complete—regardless of whether my circumstances change.

    And it took twelve years to get here.

    The Biblical Significance of Twelve

    Throughout Scripture, the number twelve often represents divine order, authority, and completeness in God’s purposes.

    There were twelve tribes of Israel and twelve disciples of Jesus. After Jesus fed the multitude, twelve baskets of food remained. Revelation describes the New Jerusalem with twelve gates and twelve foundations.

    There was also a woman in Scripture who had suffered for twelve years before she reached out and touched the garment of Jesus. In the same passage, Jesus raised Jairus’s twelve-year-old daughter back to life.

    Twelve years of suffering.

    Twelve years of waiting.

    And then came healing, restoration, and new life.

    When I began thinking about the significance of twelve, I couldn’t ignore how deeply it spoke to my own story. I don’t believe numbers should be treated as promises or predictions, but I do believe God can use details to remind us of His faithfulness.

    Maybe these twelve years were never wasted years.

    Maybe they were years of divine order—years when God was putting the broken pieces of my life back into their proper places.

    I Wasn’t Just Waiting—I Was Becoming

    I used to believe I was waiting for the person who would make my life feel complete. But looking back, I can see that God was doing something much deeper.

    He was teaching me who I am without another person defining me.

    He was healing wounds I once thought would always control me. He was teaching me boundaries, discernment, forgiveness, and self-respect. He was showing me that forgiveness does not require allowing someone to return and hurt me again.

    He taught me how to sit with myself and still have peace. He showed me that loneliness does not have to convince me to settle. He taught me that I can deeply desire companionship without allowing that desire to become an idol.

    These years strengthened my faith. They taught me to pray, journal, surrender, and depend on God in ways I may never have learned if everything had happened according to my timeline.

    I thought I was waiting for God to change my circumstances.

    All along, God was changing me.

    Complete Does Not Mean Finished

    Feeling complete does not mean my story is finished. It does not mean I no longer desire marriage or that I have stopped believing God could bring someone into my life.

    I still desire a husband who loves God first—a best friend, partner, protector, and companion with whom I can share this life. I still believe there is something beautiful about two people walking together with God at the center.

    But that person will not be responsible for making me whole.

    He will not be asked to heal wounds that I have refused to surrender to God. He will not be expected to become the source of my identity, worth, or peace.

    If God brings someone into my life, he will not complete an incomplete woman. He will add to a life that is already full, peaceful, and rooted in Christ.

    That realization changes everything.

    I can desire love without chasing it. I can hope without forcing anything. I can wait without believing my life is passing me by.

    I am not waiting to become whole anymore.

    Perhaps This Was a Completion Season

    Maybe these twelve years were not simply a waiting season.

    Maybe they were a completion season.

    Not the completion of my entire story, but the completion of something within me. The end of living from old wounds. The end of believing that another person holds the missing piece of my life. The end of looking outside myself for something only God could give me.

    God has taken the woman who once lived in survival mode and taught her how to live in peace. He has taken what was broken and created something stronger, wiser, and more discerning.

    It took twelve years, but I can finally say this with confidence:

    My life is complete because my completeness comes from Christ.

    I am still growing. I am still becoming. I still have desires and prayers that have not been answered in the way I once imagined. But my joy is no longer postponed until those answers arrive.

    These twelve years were not empty.

    They were holy.

    They were necessary.

    And perhaps they were God’s way of bringing order, healing, and completeness to a part of my story that once felt completely shattered.

    I don’t know exactly what God will do next, but I no longer need the next chapter to prove that this one has been meaningful.

    I am whole.

    And now, with an open heart and open hands, I’m simply watching to see what God writes next.

    Reflection Questions

    1. Have you been postponing your joy while waiting for something in your life to change?
    2. Are you asking another person or circumstance to provide something only God can give you?
    3. What has God developed within you during your waiting season?
    4. What if the season you called “waiting” was actually a season of healing and becoming?
    5. Can you recognize the ways your life is already full and complete in Christ?

    Closing Prayer

    Father, thank You for every season You have used to heal, strengthen, and shape me. Forgive me for the times I believed my life could not be complete until my circumstances changed. Help me find my identity, peace, and wholeness in You alone. Thank You for never wasting a single year of my story. Give me the faith to appreciate where I am while trusting You with whatever comes next. In Jesus’ name, Amen! 

    —Wendy

  • Easy Things Don’t Change You

    Easy Things Don’t Change You

    By: Wendy Morris

    Have you ever looked back and really thought about what changed you?

    Not what made you comfortable.
    Not what went according to plan.
    Not the seasons when everything seemed easy.

    What actually changed you?

    For me, some of the most challenging and painful seasons of my life are where I discovered who I was—and who I was becoming.

    I certainly didn’t understand it while I was going through it. There were days that were absolutely miserable. My family could tell you that. There are still specific moments I can remember so vividly that, if I allow myself to sit there too long, I can almost feel the emotions all over again.

    But I don’t look back because I want to relive them.

    I look back because I want to remember what God brought me through.

    There is a difference.

    Looking back can keep us attached to our pain, or it can give us perspective. I don’t need to return emotionally to those places to prove that they happened. I simply need to remember where I was, what God taught me there, and Who brought me out.

    The Wilderness Taught Me Dependence

    Looking back now, I can see that God was showing me things about myself during those difficult seasons.

    Things I probably wouldn’t have learned when life was easy.

    He exposed areas that needed healing. He showed me things I needed to surrender. He revealed where I was depending on myself instead of depending on Him. And although some of that process was incredibly painful, it was necessary to mold me into more of who He says I am.

    Deuteronomy 8 talks about remembering the wilderness. God didn’t want His people to remain there. He wanted them to remember what they learned there.

    I understand that differently now.

    Some seasons aren’t meant to become our permanent address. They’re meant to teach us something we carry with us when we leave.

    My wilderness taught me that I didn’t have enough strength on my own.

    I needed God.

    Completely.

    There were times when I wondered where He was. There were moments when it felt like maybe He had left me. But looking back, I can honestly say:

    He never did.

    Sometimes He gave me more strength.

    Sometimes He gave me courage.

    Sometimes He gave me peace that didn’t make sense considering what was happening around me.

    And sometimes He placed exactly the right person in my path—someone who mentored me, encouraged me, spoke truth to me, or gave me exactly what I needed during that particular season.

    God didn’t always change my circumstances when I wanted Him to.

    Sometimes He changed me in the circumstances.

    And that may have been the greater miracle.

    I Don’t Want to Learn the Same Lesson Twice

    There are places in my life I never want to return to.

    Not because I’m afraid of my past, but because I know what it cost me.

    I know what God brought me through.

    I know what certain decisions did to my peace.

    I know what happens when I take my eyes off God and start convincing myself that my way might work just as well.

    Because I’ve challenged that one too.

    I’ve wanted what I wanted.

    I’ve justified things.

    I’ve tried to tweak Scripture to make something fit what I wanted to do.

    I’ve reasoned with myself.

    What’s really wrong with it?

    It’s just a little compromise.

    Just a little temptation here.

    Just a little there.

    But temptation rarely walks into our lives announcing:

    “I’m here to completely derail you.”

    It’s usually much quieter than that.

    Just this once.

    It’s really not that serious.

    Everybody does it.

    God understands.

    And yes, God does understand our humanity.

    Yes, there is grace.

    Yes, there is forgiveness.

    Thank God for all of it.

    But grace isn’t permission to continually choose something we already know God has asked us to surrender.

    Romans 6:1–2 reminds us that grace was never intended to become an excuse to continue deliberately in sin.

    At some point, obedience requires us to stop asking how close we can get to the line and start asking:

    Does this honor God?

    Temptation Is Real

    I’ve learned that growth isn’t only tested during the huge crises of life.

    Sometimes it’s tested afterward.

    Quietly.

    When no one else knows.

    When you have the opportunity to return to something God already showed you wasn’t good for you.

    That’s when the questions become different.

    Will I go back to what God already delivered me from?

    Will I justify something simply because I want it?

    Will I bend Scripture around my desires, or will I surrender my desires to Scripture?

    Do I actually believe God’s way is better when His way isn’t the easiest way?

    That’s where spiritual maturity starts getting real.

    The hard season teaches us who God is.

    The temptation afterward reveals whether we believe Him.

    His Way Is Better Than Mine

    I’ve tried doing things my way.

    I’ve justified my way.

    I’ve tried convincing myself that something wasn’t really that bad.

    I’ve even tried making my way sound a little more like God’s way so I could feel better about choosing it.

    And do you know what I’ve discovered?

    His way is still better.

    Every time.

    God gives us free will, but our choices still have consequences. We can choose something outside of what God desires for us and then wonder why we don’t have the peace we expected it to bring.

    Something outside God’s will may satisfy us temporarily, but temporary satisfaction and lasting peace are two very different things.

    I’ve lived enough life now to know that I don’t want something badly enough to continually sacrifice my peace, my growth, my relationship with God, or the person He has worked so hard to shape me into.

    That doesn’t mean I’ll never struggle.

    It doesn’t mean temptation disappears.

    It doesn’t mean I’ll always get everything right.

    It means when I don’t, I know where to return.

    Back to Him.

    Remember, But Don’t Move Back In

    I don’t want to live in my past.

    I don’t want to replay painful moments until I feel everything I felt then.

    When my mind starts going there, sometimes I have to change my thoughts quickly and remind myself:

    I’m not there anymore.

    God brought me through it.

    But I do want to remember.

    I want to remember the prayers I thought weren’t being answered.

    I want to remember the days I didn’t think I had enough strength.

    I want to remember the people God sent at exactly the right time.

    I want to remember the peace that showed up when my circumstances hadn’t changed.

    I want to remember the woman I was and recognize the woman God has been molding me into.

    Because sometimes we need to look back—not to go backward, but to recognize just how far God has brought us.

    Easy things don’t always change us.

    Sometimes it’s the wilderness.

    Sometimes it’s heartbreak.

    Sometimes it’s disappointment.

    Sometimes it’s surrender.

    Sometimes it’s resisting the temptation to return to something familiar simply because familiar feels easier than obedience.

    And sometimes it’s finally admitting:

    “God, I’ve tried my way. Your way is better.”

    I don’t know what challenges are ahead of me, and I don’t expect to get everything right.

    But I know something today that I didn’t always understand:

    I don’t have to be strong enough on my own.

    I never was.

    God was my strength then.

    He’s my strength now.

    And when I look back over everything He’s already carried me through, I have every reason to trust Him with where He’s leading me next.

    Reflection Questions

    • What difficult season changed you the most, and what did God teach you through it?
    • Are you remembering your past to recognize God’s faithfulness, or are you allowing yourself to emotionally live there again?
    • Is there something God has already shown you isn’t good for you that you’re being tempted to return to?
    • Are you surrendering your desires to Scripture, or trying to make Scripture fit your desires?
    • Where might God be asking you to choose obedience over temporary satisfaction?
    • When you look back over your life, where can you clearly see that God never left you?

    Closing Prayer

    Lord, thank You for never leaving me, even in the seasons when I couldn’t see what You were doing. Thank You for the strength, grace, people, and peace You provided exactly when I needed them. Help me remember where You’ve brought me from without returning to the places You’ve called me out of. Give me wisdom when I’m tempted, conviction when I begin to compromise, and courage to choose Your way over mine. Continue molding me into who You created me to be. I know now that I don’t have to do this in my own strength. Your way is better, and I choose to trust You.

    Amen.

    —Wendy

  • Faithful in the Waiting

    Faithful in the Waiting

    By: Wendy Morris

    The people God uses the most are not always the ones with the easiest paths. Often, they are the ones who stayed faithful in the hardest seasons. The ones who refused to let the waiting or the silence convince them to stop believing.

    They are the people who held onto the promises of God for so long that it left marks on their hands — not wounds, but evidence of faithfulness.

    Waiting seasons are rarely comfortable. Most of the time, preparation looks and feels like loss.

    It can feel like God is stripping away the very things we once held tightly to — relationships, comfort, familiarity, plans, and even dreams we thought would last forever. Sometimes the things we cling to most are quietly chipping away at us little by little, and God, in His mercy, begins pruning what no longer aligns with where He is taking us.

    The wilderness seasons can feel painful. Doors close. Relationships end. Dreams shatter. Life feels uncertain and confusing. But what feels like everything falling apart may actually be God building your faith for what He has promised.

    The waiting is not punishment.
    The wilderness is often preparation.

    Genesis 50:20 reminds us:

    “What the enemy meant for evil, God meant for good.”

    Every heartbreak, disappointment, betrayal, delay, and lonely season can become part of the process God uses to shape us into who He created us to be.

    All the pain and heartbreak you survived were not wasted. God was building you. Strengthening you. Refining your character. Preparing you for an assignment bigger than what you can currently see.

    And one day, what suddenly unfolds in your life will reveal that God was working the entire time — even when you could not see it.

    Joseph: The Pit Was Not the End

    When Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, and thrown into prison, he could not see the palace from the pit.

    He could not see the promotion from the prison cell.

    He could not understand how every betrayal, every closed door, and every painful year was actually part of God’s intentional preparation for his future.

    But God could.

    Joseph waited many years between receiving the dream and seeing it fulfilled. During the waiting, he endured rejection, injustice, isolation, and suffering. Yet God used every season to prepare him to eventually lead Egypt and save countless lives during famine.

    What looked like abandonment was actually preparation.

    Abraham and Sarah: Waiting on the Promise

    Abraham and Sarah waited decades for the promised son God told them they would have.

    The delay tested their faith, patience, and trust in God’s timing. But God still fulfilled His promise exactly as He said He would.

    Sometimes waiting stretches us in ways comfort never could.

    David: Anointed Before Appointed

    David was anointed king while still a young shepherd boy, but years passed before he actually became king.

    During the waiting, David was hunted by Saul, lived in caves, and faced betrayal, fear, and uncertainty.

    Yet God used the waiting season to shape David’s character before giving him the crown.

    The hidden season mattered just as much as the public one.

    Moses: The Wilderness Was Preparation

    Moses spent forty years in Egypt and another forty years in the wilderness before leading Israel out of bondage.

    The wilderness was not wasted time.

    God was preparing him there.

    The quiet seasons often teach us dependence on God in ways success and comfort never can.

    Hannah: Faith Through Heartbreak

    Hannah prayed and wept for a child while enduring deep emotional pain and misunderstanding.

    Year after year, she waited.

    But eventually, God gave her Samuel.

    Her story reminds us that God sees every tear we cry in private.

    Noah: Obedience Before the Rain

    Noah obeyed God and spent years building the ark before a single drop of rain ever fell.

    Imagine continuing in obedience without visible evidence that anything was happening.

    That is faith.

    Job: Waiting Through Suffering

    Job endured an incredibly painful season of loss, confusion, and suffering while waiting for restoration and understanding.

    Even in the silence, God never abandoned him.

    Elijah: Strengthened in the Wilderness

    After a great victory, Elijah entered a lonely wilderness season where God restored and strengthened him.

    Sometimes even after mountaintop moments, we still walk through valleys.

    God meets us there too.

    The Israelites: Learning Dependence on God

    The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years before entering the Promised Land.

    The waiting season exposed fear, unbelief, and disobedience — but it also taught them dependence on God.

    Sometimes God has to remove our reliance on temporary things before we fully trust Him.

    Even Jesus Experienced Waiting

    Jesus Himself experienced seasons of preparation and waiting.

    • Thirty years before beginning ministry
    • Forty days in the wilderness
    • Time spent praying before major decisions

    His life reminds us that preparation often comes before assignment.

    Don’t Waste the Waiting

    When it feels like nothing is happening, remember:

    Joseph could not see the palace from the pit.
    David could not see the throne from the cave.
    Moses could not see deliverance from the wilderness.
    Noah could not see the flood while building the ark.

    But God could.

    So do not stop preparing during your waiting season.

    Take this season seriously. Let God refine you. Heal you. Strengthen you. Teach you. Build your faith. Build your character. Build your dependence on Him.

    One day it will all make sense.

    And when God finally reveals what He was doing behind the scenes, you will realize the waiting was never wasted at all.

    Reflection Questions

    1. Am I obeying God’s Word in the waiting, even when I do not understand what He is doing?
    2. Am I trusting God’s timing, or am I trying to force my own?
    3. Have I allowed disappointment or silence to weaken my faith?
    4. What comfort, relationship, habit, or mindset might God be asking me to release?

    Prayer:

    Lord, if there is anything in my life You are asking me to release — relationships, habits, distractions, mindsets, or comforts — give me the courage to let go and trust that what You have for me is greater.

    Strengthen my faith when disappointment tries to weaken it. Remind me that the waiting is not wasted and that You are using every season to shape me, prepare me, and draw me closer to You.

    In Jesus’ name,

    Amen

    —Wendy

  • Unequally yoked: When Love Isn’t Aligned With Purpose

    Unequally yoked: When Love Isn’t Aligned With Purpose

    “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” —Corinthians 6:14

    There are connections in life that feel right emotionally…but don’t align spiritually.

    You can laugh together, talk for hours, and even feel a deep bond—yet something inside you feels off.

    Not because the person is bad. Not because you don’t care. But because you are not walking in the same direction. And that’s what this scripture speaks to.

    🔍What Does “Unequally Yoked” Mean?

    A yoke connects two animals so they can move together.

    If one is stronger, faster, or headed on a different direction, the journey becomes strained.

    In the same way, when you are joined closely with someone who doesn’t share your faith or values:

    • You’ll eventually pull against each other
    • One will feel held back
    • The other may be pressured to change

    What starts as connection can slowly turn into confusion, compromise, or exhaustion.

    ⚖️The Deeper Contrast

    This verse gives two powerful comparisons:

    • Righteousness vs. lawlessness
    • Light vs. darkness

    It’s not just about differences—it’s about opposite foundations.

    When your life is centered on God and theirs is not, your decisions, priorities, and convictions will not match.

    And over time, that gap becomes possible to ignore.

    ❤️It’s Not About Rejection

    This verse is often misunderstood.

    God is not telling you to:

    • Judge people
    • Avoid people
    • Think you’re better than others

    He’s teaching you discernment:

    You can:

    • Love people
    • Be kind to people
    • Support people

    Without being deeply tied to them on a war it effects your walk with Him.

    🧠The Hard Truth

    Sometimes we try to make it work because:

    • We see potential
    • We feel attached
    • We don’t want to let go

    But alignment is not built on potential, it’s built on shared direction.

    You cannot carry a relationship where:

    • You’re chasing God
    • And they’re not

    Eventually, you’ll have to choose:

    👉Compromise your walk

    or

    👉Release what isn’t aligned

    🕊️A Personal Reflection

    There are moments when God gently reveals:

    “This isn’t it.”

    And it doesn’t always come with chaos or conflict—sometimes it comes with quiet conviction.

    That feeling in your spirit?

    That hesitation you can’t explain?

    That’s not confusion.

    Thats discernment.

    🙏Reflection Questions

    • Are my relationships aligned with my faith and values?
    • Am I trying to force something God is asking me to release?
    • Is this connection bringing me closer to God…..or pulling me away?

    💬Encouragement

    Letting go of someone you care about is never easy.

    But being unequally yoked will cost you more than separation ever will.

    God doesn’t remove people to hurt you—

    He does it to protect your purpose.

    What he has for you will be

    • Aligned
    • Peaceful
    • Rooted in Him

    You won’t have to force it.

    🙏Closing Prayer

    Lord,

    Thank You for Your wisdom and truth.

    Help me to have discernment in my relationships.

    Give me the strength to walk away from anything that is not aligned with You, even when it’s hard.

    Guard my heart, my purpose, and my walk with You.

    Teach me to trust that what You remove, You will replace with something greater and aligned with Your will.

    In Jesus’ name,

    Amen.

    –Wendy