STEPS, NOT SPEED
Have you noticed how impatient people seem to be these days? It is as if things need to be moving at lightning speed, or not at all. Many of the young people want to finish school and make millions in a few days, or get a job and be the CEO in a few months, or even get married and have children, wealth and happiness in a blink. Is that really possible?
It has been interesting watching people clamour for impact in a blink, which is not possible. Imagine with me going to baby class and wanting to be in high school in two weeks. On the other hand, no farmer plants today and expects to harvest in two days or two weeks. There are hybrid plants that have a shorter maturity time, but it is not possible to effectively reduce it to a couple of weeks.
The challenge we have is the pursuit of shortcuts, because we want to get to places quickly, but they are dangerous, because the absence of stable growth creates room for challenges in the future. It is like climbing a ladder that has unscrewed steps so that it will fall apart when someone steps on it.
Where did this thought process come from? It is likely from the thought that there is no time for anything, or what is commonly called, the instant generation. Think about all the foods we call instant, they are enhanced in one way or the other and hence not the real self. Take coffee, for example, there is a difference between instant coffee, perfectly brewed coffee, and over brewed coffee.
Each state requires a different set of preparation steps and has a different flavour profile. Instant coffee is made by freeze-drying and spray-drying the concentrated extract of roasted coffee beans. After brewing, the water is removed by evaporation from the extract and frozen to create dry granules or powder. Some say that for the best cup of coffee, one needs to grind the beans fresh for every brew, wet the filter, add the beans to the wet filter and then pour the hot water through exposing the beans for no more than 6 minutes. Over brewed coffee is boiled and kept hot over a long time. Each option produces a different flavour profile from sweet to extremely bitter.
Life is very similar to brewing a cup of coffee. Every success or assignment completed has to go through a process…a set of steps. When you climb step by step you are less tired at the top and there is less danger of falling. It is also possible that as you go up, you can see the pathway and make adjustments for challenges as you go. If you find a cracked step you can skip it over or find a more stable side to support your weight.
Shortcuts are long runs – DK
Everyone has their own journey, and no one can determine the route for any other or the time frame. There are no universal timelines and pathways, there are just STEPS. Do you know who followed process? Let’s track a few. Moses spent 40 years working for his father-in-law after fleeing the palace in Egypt, then he was asked by God to go back and lead the children of Israel out. He knew the patterns and thinking of Pharaoh as well as the needed protocols. Jesus was first announced at 12 and then disappeared from the limelight until he started ministry at 30. What do you think he was doing in those years?
This is the place of process…it is where we learn the things that will keep us on track, even when we make it big. We learn to stand no matter what, to keep walking even in the dark, to be joyful and thankful despite the challenges and to understand our calling. It also gives us time to fall and rise again.
Every fall is either a failure, if you stop there or a launchpad if you dust yourself off, learn the lesson and keep walking. Every journey has bumps, potholes, corners and even dead drops, meaning the speed is not constant, but consistent in its nature.
So let’s learn to focus on growing one step at a time so that we may rise to the fullness that God has seen. Yes, the one God has seen. If you haven’t understood or seen what God has seen…that is where you need to start. Do you know how to?
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