Lessons from a sprout

I'm growing plants. Because I want a bunch on my deck. Yep.
And I've noticed something about them. They grow fast, but as soon as they get even a little bit off the ground, they fall over...and just kinda lay on the ground... :(
I was thinking about why they did this and realized that they didn't have any wind blowing on them or anything. They were growing fast, but they had nothing to make them stronger, so they just fell to the ground.
This illustrates a point. I'm forever getting impatient, wanting to grow faster. Grow to be more like Christ. And I get so discouraged when things come and I feel like I'm not growing at all.
But what if I grew? And I grew and grew and...fell. On the ground. And just stayed there. Because I had no strength to hold me up. I'd envy the other sprouts who were shorter but still standing up!
God sends trials in our lives to make us stronger. He sends wind, pouring water, no water, etc to strengthen us so that we can stand. Without those things, we'd eventually just fall.
Count your blessings, even the hard ones :)