Once I was sitting
downstairs in the fellowship hall at church speaking to a friend. I had
happened to mention progress I was making in overcoming a particular issue, and
the friend inquired, "How much?" I told her, and she looked at me in
surprise and rolled her eyes, proceeding to tell me how much I ought to be
doing about this and how much she does. "I know," I said, "but
I'm working up to it." Rome wasn't built in a day, right? Apparently she
forgot this, and didn't seem to understand my reasons for going slow but
steady. Towards the end, however, she congratulated me on my progress and
encouraged me, and the day went on. The next night I was lying in bed
mulling over all the mountains in my life, as I'm sure we all do. A spark of
determination would be kindled in my heart no sooner to be extinguished by
the memory of the well intentioned, but ill-fitting actions of my friend, and I
would burst into quiet sobs. I
can't do it. Nothing will ever be good enough. The sobs would
deepen as I pondered if perhaps GOD had the same attitude. Was He looking down
upon me and shaking His head, a huge frown on His face? Unfortunately, my pity
party was cut short as I still had things to do before I could hit the hay,
such as evening worship with my sister. Somewhere along the line, I was able to
get everything off my chest with her. Part of me cringed inwardly as I related
the story, expecting the same treatment.
But no! I was in for a
surprise. "Of course you can't go whole hog," Zelda said.
"That's just stupid. You need to work up to it." The words were a
balm to my depressed soul as I continued to hash the matter out. By the time I
was done, I'd come to these conclusions: Sisters are one of life's greatest
blessings, I did have a bit of sense after all, and the most important: never
give up, no matter what; keep looking forward, despite adversity. The
following story illustrates this quite well, in my opinion:
"One day a
group of people accompanied their new missionary up a steep mountainside on the
island of Sumatra. The narrow path was bordered on both sides by tall lallang
grass. When the travellers came to the steepest part of the climb,
they reached out to take hold of the grass to pull themselves up. Everyone in
the line shouted, 'Grasp it firmly! Grasp it firmly!' So the missionary grabbed
a handful of the tough, coarse grass and held it. Then he grabbed another
handful and another until they reached the top. Then the missionary asked his
companions why they had all shouted, 'Grasp it firmly!' They told him that if any
person takes hold of the lallang grass lightly or fearfully, the razor-sharp
edges will cut his hands and leave deep and painful wounds." -From Under the Blood Banner by
Eric Kreye and Norma R. Youngberg.
Not only was the pastor diligent in taking
hold of the grass, he was focused, undistracted. When things get tough, we
should be the same way, not allowing ourselves to become lax or distracted. At
the same time, let us never forget to root for others, even if we don't fully
understand the situation, lest we make them depressed. "Pleasant words
[are] as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones."
Proverbs 16:24.
Blessings,
Adelaide Smith
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