The Slow Mercy of Maturity

The Slow Mercy of Maturity

Understanding Gradual Growth

Personal reflections from a fellow traveler.  Not AA approved literature.  Shared in the spirit of Experience, Strength, and Hope.

I used to think that change should come quickly.
If I was honest enough, prayed hard enough, worked the Steps hard enough—clarity, peace, and certainty would arrive all at once.

That expectation proved different. When growth felt slow, I assumed something was broken. What I didn’t understand yet was that maturity didn’t arrive as rescue. It arrives as mercy—gradual, quiet, and earned.

The Steps didn’t remove my defects overnight. They revealed them slowly. One inventory at a time. One amends at a time. One day at a time. I didn’t become wiser through sudden insight, but through repeated practice—admitting powerlessness, asking for help, making room for God to work instead of forcing outcomes myself.

Growth doesn’t always announce itself boldly. Sometimes it shows up in restraint. In pauses where reaction used to live. In moments where I choose honesty over comfort, humility over control. That kind of change feels unimpressive while it’s happening—but it lasts.

Early on, I wanted immediate transformation. What I was given instead was consistency. The mercy of maturity is that it protects me from pride. If change came too fast, I’d claim it as my own. Slow growth keeps me dependent, teachable, and grounded.

Looking back, I see it clearly now. I didn’t grow because I tried harder. I grew because I stayed. I kept showing up. I kept practicing the principles—even at times when nothing felt rewarding.

That is the slow mercy of maturity.
Not instant freedom, but durable freedom.
Not perfection, but progress that holds.

Where might steady practice be shaping you more deeply than dramatic change ever could?