Formation, Not Transformation

Dare I say: I care not to see another #transformationtuesday. I’ve had my moments when I wake up to find myself anew. I’ve lost some weight. I’m a new person because of some seminar I went through. My muscle def is on point. I recite the affirmations to myself in the mirror till I am blue in the face. Then I post about it EVERYWHERE. Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. And why wouldn't I? I want to be inspiring to others so they can experience the same freedom, right? It couldn’t be that I want to brag on myself for a moment. Or that I want to show the world I have it together. Perhaps I’m so lost in the spin cycle of self-help paraphernalia I just need SOMEONE to tell me I’m doing something right.

Then the inevitable happens. The momentary excitement wears off. People stop complimenting the change because now…well, now it’s the new normal. There is a different level of expectation. I try hard to keep it up. Telling myself this is what I like, this is what feels good, and this is the way life should be. Before long, I look up, and I’ve gained a few pounds, and the wave of self-doubt is louder than my once affirmative voice. So, I have a new transformation to achieve. Maybe this one will be the one to last I foolishly tell myself. {cue audible laughter}

See, the truth I have come to embrace is that it’s not about the transformation. It’s about the formation journey. Transformation indicates something was wrong with what was originally before you. Could it be the way I was created was enough and worthy of love? Could it be that once I accepted Christ as my Savior, His transformative work in me was enough to make me new? Formation indicates a continuation of the journey, giving form and shape to the initial change I experienced with whatever conviction I may have experienced which transformed me. It’s no longer about being changed. It’s about walking the change every day.

Today I pose myself some questions. I examine my motives and my heart to get to the self-admiring root of my actions. What if I get off the dopamine-high of affirmation when I achieve {fill in the blank} transformation? What if I decide, little by little, to take one step at a time to make the right choices? What if instead of setting out for transformation to be noticed, I changed my direction to formation for His glory? How different could my life look different? What would I set aside, and what would I chase after?

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