ABOUT SANDPAPER

Thought Adjuster: “Dear child, evolution is and has to be a slow process. Why is it so? First of all, because it is impossible to suddenly and magically move from a state of imperfection to one of perfection. You live in a universe of time and space and time cannot be overridden as it is the very element involved in growth. Growth happens over time—otherwise it could not be called growth.

“It is obvious that your physical body ages, i.e. changes over time. What about your character? If you look at yourself at the onset of your life and compare your younger self with your current self, you will be able to identify the growth that has slowly but surely taken place—your personal metamorphosis. You can also recognize such a process in some of your siblings--especially if you have not seen them for a while; you will notice how much they have changed and ‘matured.’

“What triggered such changes? Life challenges are what drove them beyond their current limitations. At times, similar challenges had to come up again and again so as to incrementally raise the bar of the human achievements. Again, too much, too soon would be detrimental as it could cause a breakdown rather than a buildup.

“This is the reason why you have to be patient and there is much wisdom contained in patience. To force growth is unwise. It could be compared to feeding a baby with steroids which would obviously be catastrophic as to the sound development of the child. The development of the mind has to be synchronized with the development of the body and this occurs through the experiential growth process.

“Dear ones, keep your eyes focused on the destination but adjust your pace so as not to run out of breath before you reach that much coveted goal. Do not be complacent; do not be overeager. Learn to embrace the natural rhythm of the cycles of life and to consciously live each moment of each day so as to extract from them their nutritional and educational value.

“Life challenges are like the various grades of sand paper that painstakingly and slowly erase the rough spots of your character. The Father and His Helpers are the ones selecting the appropriate grit—from coarse to fine—so that eventually your character will been so refined that it will reveal its full brilliance like a pebble beautifully polished by the tides.”