Growth

Jumper: Made

Shirt: Thrifted

Shoes: Thrifted

Necklace: Vintage

Well, it sure has taken long enough for me to get these pictures up on the blog, but considering that Fall is right around the corner this shoot seems like the perfect way to say farewell to summer. Today is Labor Day after all, which in itself seems to close the doors on summer fashion (goodbye whites) and usher in a new season of styles and colors. While I can't wait for the crisp fall weather to get here (yay for fall colors and sweaters), I can't help but think back to all of the lovely memories from this summer! This shoot particularly was a great memory because I had been dreaming of shooting at our local plant nursery for the longest time. Thankfully I persuaded two of my friends to come with me for a photo shoot day (just so happened to be right before I headed back to college) and boy did we get some lovely shots! Definitely a day to remember. 

With all that being said, and considering that I am completely surrounded by the loveliest plants in all of these pictures, it makes me think about "GROWTH." While growth definitely makes me think about all of the beauty in nature that I am surrounded by every day, it also makes me think about growth in my own life. Whenever I think about growth, so many thing pop into my mind such as beauty, new beginnings, lessons, and letting go. Specifically for me, I think about the amount of growth that I have done over the course of this current semester (even though we are only a week and a half into school). 

College itself has been all about growth for me, as I have had to trust God with areas of my life that were hard to trust him with and have faith that his plans were better than my own! I truly believe that the only way you will grow in life is when you learn to let go. However, letting go is one of the hardest things to do. Nevertheless, when we learn to let go we learn that it can be one of the most rewarding things because when we let go of our own desires we open ourselves up for God's greater plan in our life, and when we do that we grow in ways we would never have imagined! When I reflect back on the growth in my life I can't help but think back to a quote from Elisabeth Elliott which reads:

“There is no ongoing spiritual life without this process of letting go. At the precise point where we refuse, growth stops. If we hold tightly to anything given to us, unwilling to let it go when the time comes to let it go or unwilling to allow it to be used as the Giver means it to be used, we stunt the growth of the soul." 

We have to learn to let go in life in order to grow! After all, trees let go and loose their leaves so that they can grow new ones when spring comes.......sometimes we have to be willing to let go of our leaves too, so that new ones can grow. Growth is soooooo important in our lives, because without it we would never learn what we are capable of and even more so, what God is capable of in our life!

Have you experienced any growth in your life recently?

What do you think about letting go and growth?

-Madison