Jasmine, on Transformation. Sling Diaries, Vol VII.

The Sling Diaries, Volume VII. A photo-documentary chronicling the art of baby wearing in the lives of families around the world. Over the course of six months, Sling Diarists will create their own Sling Diary though a series of diary entries interpreting a unique theme given to them each month.

Meet all of our Sling Diarists here.

ON TRANSFORMATION 

Around you will come pressure to have arrived in full bloom. Let that pressure fall to the wayside. No two stories are found equal, no two flowers the same. Relish your own journey. Thrive in what sets you apart from the one beside. 

Grow comfortable in championing your own heart AND the heart of the one who blooms beside you.

You will find your form changes over time, be it by fire, water, or weathering. The combination of a soft heart, surrender and effort will lead you swiftly to a place of growth in all its glory.

Transformation by fire is the burning away.

These seasons of transformation are the ones that feel hot and heavy; the change in you is coming hard and fast. But it is pure. The fire is refining you. As you walk through fire it can almost feel painful, and you certainly are aware of the change happening. Most often these seasons are beyond your control. You can't choose to have them, and you can’t avoid them. But trust that the fire will make your weakness become your greatest strength. The fire is bringing to life things in you that you never knew existed. It will expose the hidden gold in your heart. It will show you as strong and courageous.

Transformation by water is bringing dead things to life.

These seasons of transformation are so completely satisfying; the change in you is noticeable, yet its arrival is peaceful. The water is reaching deep places in your soul, places that have been so dry and weary and then bringing life. The places in you that have shut down, turned off, hidden away, when seasons of water come, you will renew dreams, you will find things within you that have laid dormant for so long, that start to come to the surface. The water will cause both the new and old to grow again. It will cultivate new hope in your heart. It will show you as a dreamer.

Transformation by weathering is allowing our surroundings to affect who we become.

These seasons of transformation can almost go by unrecognized; though the change is lasting and meaningful, its arrival is slow and steady. The weathering process happens naturally as we rub up against others around us. Its marked by our response to those little things and the still whispers. As you look back at who you were before the season of weathering, to who you are after, you will find yourself grateful for the people placed around you. You’ll be thankful for the ones who are easy to love, and also for the ones who challenge you to your core. The season of weathering will break down the walls of your heart. It will allow you to have a soft heart; it will show you as a lover.

Don’t fear change, don’t fear growth, trust your design, it will lead you from glory to glory. The old has gone and the new has come. You were never designed to stay the same.

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Follow along with Jasmine over on Instagram, @the.russells, and The Sling Diaries on Pinterest.