I hacked at the weeds filling the main path in my garden with a hoe, as my arm muscles complained. Straightening up, I stared in discouragement at how far I still had to go. How long was this going to take? Then the thought came to me, “Don’t look at how far you have to go. Look at how far you’ve come.”
Looking behind me, I saw the path littered with chopped weeds. Okay, maybe I’d only made it a couple yards so far, but that was something, wasn’t it? Every little bit helped. I continued, with several rest breaks, until the task was complete. Weeds down, vegetables still intact and growing. I made it!
The principle applies to many areas of life. I remember when I decided to homeschool our boys. Although the idea excited me, doubts quickly rose. I would need to teach my children to read, to write, to do math, to understand social studies and science concepts. Not to mention the Bible and moral values, physical education, thinking skills… The list seemed overwhelming. But then I thought about how much my five-year-old had already learned. With very little direct teaching, he had learned to use the potty, to dress himself, to speak and hold conversations. He could tell me all sorts of facts about animals and space, just from watching TV specials and having books read to him. He knew his alphabet from the alphabet blocks and numbers from playing games and counting things.
If he had learned so much just through our daily life, perhaps homeschool wouldn’t be so difficult, after all. And that proved true, for the most part. Sure, there were difficult days, and some skills came more slowly than others. But as we worked at it, one day at a time, the learning happened. Both of our boys are grown now, married and living good lives. They have come so far. We made it!
Paul reminds us that our spiritual life also works this way. We can look back and see how far God has taken us and know that He will lead us the rest of the way. In what area do you need to remind yourself of how far you’ve come?
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.– Philippian 1:6
