You Don't Have to Have It All Together to Become

For a long time, I thought becoming meant eventually arriving at a place where everything in my life finally made sense.

I thought I would become the woman God created me to be when I was more confident, more disciplined, more healed, more financially secure, more spiritually mature, just more together.

But I'm learning something.

You don't have to have it all together to become.

In fact, some of the greatest becoming happens while things are still coming together.

We have become masters at presenting the finished version of ourselves. We post the accomplishments, celebrate the wins, announce the new opportunities, and share the pictures where everything looks beautiful.

But we don't always talk about what happened between the prayer and the promise.

We don't talk enough about the days we questioned ourselves.

The mistakes we made while trying to get it right.

The things we thought we had healed from that somehow showed up again.

The moments when we loved God but still struggled.

The seasons when we knew we were called but didn't know what we were called to.

The truth is, becoming can be messy.

And I know because I'm still becoming.

There are areas of my life where I've grown tremendously, and there are other areas where God is still working on me. There are things I understand now that I wish I understood years ago. There are decisions I would make differently, conversations I would handle differently, and versions of myself that I have had to forgive.

But I've realized that growth doesn't require perfection.

It requires surrender.

Philippians 1:6 says, “He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

I love that because it reminds me that God is not intimidated by unfinished work.

He specializes in it.

Think about the people God used throughout Scripture. They weren't perfect people with perfect lives.

Moses had insecurities.

David made terrible mistakes.

Peter was impulsive.

The woman at the well had a complicated history.

Yet God still saw purpose.

That's encouraging to me because sometimes we disqualify ourselves over things God already knew about when He called us.

We say, “When I get myself together, then I'll start.”

When I heal.

When I'm more confident.

When my children are older.

When my marriage gets better.

When my finances improve.

When I stop struggling with this.

When I finally feel ready.

But what if God isn't waiting for the perfected version of you?

What if He's asking for the willing version of you?

The woman who still has questions but says yes.

The woman who is healing but keeps moving.

The woman who has made mistakes but refuses to let shame write the rest of her story.

The woman who doesn't know exactly how everything is going to work but trusts God enough to take the next step.

That's becoming.

Becoming isn't waking up one morning and suddenly being everything you prayed to be.

It's choosing differently today than you did yesterday.

It's recognizing unhealthy patterns and deciding they stop with you.

It's apologizing when you're wrong.

It's setting the boundary you should have set years ago.

It's forgiving yourself.

It's going back to school at 45.

It's starting the business when you're scared.

It's answering God's call even when you don't feel qualified.

It's allowing God to heal places you've spent years pretending didn't hurt.

It's looking at yourself honestly, not to condemn yourself, but to give God permission to transform you.

Romans 12:2 tells us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Transformation is a process.

And so is becoming.

So, girl, give yourself permission to be a work in progress.

You can be grateful for who you are today while still making room for who you're becoming tomorrow.

You can celebrate your growth without pretending you don't have more growing to do.

You can be strong and still need healing.

You can be successful and still have insecurities.

You can love God deeply and still have areas where He's developing you.

You can encourage other women while you're still navigating your own journey.

You don't have to arrive before you can become.

You just have to keep saying yes.

Yes to healing.

Yes to growth.

Yes to accountability.

Yes to change.

Yes to God.

And one day you'll look back and realize that the woman you prayed to become wasn't created in one big, miraculous moment.

She was formed through a thousand small decisions to keep going, keep growing, keep healing, and keep trusting God.

So don't despise this version of yourself because she isn't finished yet.

Honor her.

She's survived some things.

She's learned some things.

She's unlearned some things.

And by the grace of God, she's still becoming.

And if nobody has told you lately…

Becoming looks good on you.