Changing and Growing

One of the brothers and I were talking about how humbling it is to go back and read evaluations of ourselves from our time of training and formation, reading anew about our faults and "growing edges."

He had a great quote about the experience: "I haven't changed much, but I've grown a lot."

I think that says a lot about the spiritual life. We aren't really going to change; we are who we are. I can look back at my report cards from the first grade and see that I have today the same basic strengths and deficits as I did when I was six years old. On the other hand, there is growth; we can grow into our strengths and make them into graces available for others. We can also grow into our faults, if we allow them to teach us humility and the vision to see the grace of God shining through our weakness.