FOSTER CARE 20 MARCH 2025 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition If you’ve spent any time in organizations large or small, you have likely noticed just how many systems and structures exist to keep things not just running smoothly but optimally. Achieving those systems and structures comes from a whole lot of processing. We process together in meetings. We process in surveys. We process via email as we outline what went well and what went not-so-well on any given project. And we do the same thing with ourselves both in and outside the office. The processing trend As a millennial I have taken my fair share of personality assessments, and I would bet you have too! There’s the DISC, the Enneagram, the Myers-Brigg, the Big Five, and I could keep going! And I have to admit, these tests are fascinating. They yield really insightful results. We have placed an incredible premium on this act of processing and learning who we are, what makes us tick, how we show up at work and at home. Taking the time to really dive into these questions and study our work, our systems and ourselves has the power to unlock so much knowledge, but the real question is, what do we do with all of that? Processing at Its best Something I have noticed in my own life, in my work time leading 4KIDS, in my experience with the local church, and even amongst my friends and family is just how much we praise the ability to process thoroughly. And we’re coming to some great conclusions about ourselves, about situations, about ideas and about values. The highest form we see of this act of processing is in therapy. And at 4KIDS we see day after day the impact that trauma-informed work can have on a child’s healing journey. It is literally life-changing. Processing your life experiences, especially traumatic ones, with a compassionate expert can transform your life. But it’s the step that happens next that is equally transformative but so often skipped. But what happens next? We can so easily place all of our emphasis on the practice of processing something that we forget about the progress that can happen next. When we process a work project together, the next question should be, “Now what do we do next?” When we reflect on a personality assessment and learn more about ourselves, we should be asking, “How do I grow from here?” When we take the courageous step to process trauma and understand its impact, what if we then asked, “How do I make this a part of my story, to see beauty come from ashes?” If the goal of processing is to simply process, then we're really missing the most incredible gift that comes from the processing. The gift of progress is what we have right at our fingertips. Our growth is never more accessible than it is after we’ve taken the time to reflect and learn. We see this forward momentum in so many different places in scripture. Like Philippians 3:13-14, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Courageous progress I see this pull to get stuck overly processing my parenting all the time, and I know it's what so many young parents are out there doing! It’s funny, but I often think of my own parents when I find myself in this overthinking spiral. I consider what they did when they took my brother or I to the emergency room, which I can tell you happened often! They would take us in for stitches, or whatever it was that day, and they took us home and just kept moving. But it’s those kinds of moments where I am often replaying questions in my mind like, “Am I a bad parent? I don’t know what I am doing! Did I do enough? Was this my fault?” It can make me feel like such a failure and it’s so easy to just get stuck there. The real work, the real process to progress, is being able to fully reflect, question and learn, and from there keep going. Our downfalls, our personality quirks, our pains, our questions, they are all working together for good. They are all a part of getting us to the place God designed for us. These are not obstacles. I love a theme, so I can’t help myself here, but this March, I hope you take the brave next step and process, but progress. Process, But Progress - Andrew Holmes - 4KIDS President
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjE2MjU=