Growing pains...

So unfortunately being only 5 foot I have never really experienced growing pains personally. I do however remember the nights I was woken up by my little sister (who by the way is like almost a foot taller than me) screaming in pain, either she has a super low pain tolerance or those were some killer growing pains. She had them often! I on the other had have only experienced the apparent gnawing feeling in my legs only a couple of times (much to my disappointment). I have however and still am experiencing the growing pains of character growth, (due to my lack of experience in the "growing pains" area I will not compare growing of the heart to the growing of legs) I will just say they suck. I am not sure I have really experienced anything quite as painful! I don't even know how to explain them, other than pain, like your heart physically hurts, I never thought you could feel your heart breaking. Anyhow, over the past couple months I have been experiencing lots of growing pains, which I suppose if I look on the bright side is a good thing, but do I always have to look on the bright side? or can I just wallow in the pit of self pity and broken hearts? I know I know "because it builds character." I feel as though I shall have a lot of character very soon.
I often find it hard, and sometimes almost impossible to keep myself out of the "self pity mode" and keep looking at the silver lining. I often wonder why there is so much pain involved in building character. But then you are really just building your heart, and what is your heart? a muscle, and how do you build muscle? by working out. When you work out and push yourself just a little beyond where you normally go (out of your comfort zone) you tare your muscle just a little bit (i.e the stiff feeling you feel after a long hard day). When the muscle fixes itself you have a stronger muscle (i.e six packs). So when you are going through all the heart breaking and taring of growing pains when your heart fixes itself it is much stronger than it was before. But boy I would much rather spend six hours at the gym than go through some character building experience again! But like time they never cease coming.
As much as I hate the feeling of something getting ripped out of my heart, there is nothing better than the feeling after, the peace, the freedom, and (NO WAY!) the strength that I feel. I feel stronger and wiser having gone through those things than I would without. God has been teaching me and guiding me and building my character so much the past couple months it's been amazing! If I look at where I was in September and where I am now I get blown away! I have grown so much (I feel anyways haha not sure what everyone else thinks =P). God has just totally wreaked me. But the cool thing is (unlike when I take something apart) He is putting me back together into something stronger than before. He is shaping me into what he wants me to be, to be able to carry out the plans that he has for me, the plans that were written before time...But golly does it hurt!