Slow and Steady

I walked past my flower bed this weekend and noticed that some of my plants were beginning to showcase their green leaves. I wasn’t planning to work on the flower bed yet because I had a lot going on, and there is much pruning from the winter which needed tending. But I knew when I saw those green leaves, that if I didn’t pause and cut back the plants, soon they would be in full bloom, but not in full health.

I struggle with inflammation in my joints. So if I work too hard, or too long in the garden it takes me several days to recover. I knew that if I did all of the work that needed to be done it would impact the rest of the things I needed to do over the weekend, but I knew I could work for a short time and be ok. So I grabbed the clippers and began pruning and clearing away leaves and debris.

I was able to prune all of the major plants in about 15 minutes and then spent another 15 minutes picking up the cuttings and some of the leaves. As I was cleaning up I was thinking about how much more needed to be done to finish the project. I felt discouraged as I thought about what remained. But then as I thought about it my perspective began to shift.

Instead of focusing on all that still needed to happen, I began to look at all that had been done. Those 30 minutes in the garden were simple, but they produced good results. If I were to spend 15 to 30 min every day cleaning out the garden all the work would eventually get done. It might not happen all at one time, but it would happen.

I began to think about how this correlates with our lives. How often do we look at our circumstances and want everything to change all at once? We can find ourselves frustrated when grief, healing, our faith journey - you name the subject matter - take longer to see results than we would like.

But what if we shifted our thinking and acknowledged the slow and steady things that are forming us while helping us to experience full health? The hours spent in counseling. The weeks spent in physical therapy. The days taking medication to heal our bodies. The time spent in scripture learning more about God’s character. The hours in prayer. The daily journal entries. The weeks gathered with community at work, at church, and at play.

What if we could be kind to ourselves and remember that we are continually learning and growing? What if we could remember there will be setbacks and struggles, but there will also be joy and celebration?

The slow and steady practices of life take root as we live our lives day in and day out. When we look at all that needs to be done it might feel overwhelming, and we might postpone beginning because we don’t think we can handle it all at once. But what if we embrace the truth that big changes happen over time as we take slow and steady steps day by day?

Where do you need to pause and focus on the green leaves that are trying to grow? Are there branches in your story that need to be pruned? Is there debris that needs to be cleaned up? Just like my flower bed, our lives are in progress. It is ok for healing and change to take longer than we hope for, and it is ok for us to celebrate the small steps along the way.


~ Melissa