Sometimes in life you are simply dealt a rotten hand. It can seem that everything is against you. Wave after wave after wave of disappointments, tragedies and struggles crash against you, and you find it difficult to cling to the rocks of hope. You begin to think that you are unlucky, or blame life for being unfair. You’ve experienced so many hardships and challenges that your glass has gone from half-full to nearly empty. Motivation has taken a vacation, and joy has gone into hiding.
Not to minimize anyone’s situation (the challenges facing some people are truly unfathomable), but we all have different moments of toil and trouble. It’s what we do in response to our circumstances that makes all the difference between life and death—figuratively, and sometimes literally.
Even when it seems that all hope is lost, giving up should never be an option. That’s not the life that you were created for, nor the life that I believe God wants you to live. There’s a familiar saying that we all know: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Or for the vegans: How do you eat a barrel of rutabagas? Exactly the same way.
In every circumstance, regardless of what it is, you are presented with the opportunity for decision. No matter how great or small your action, the reaction you have will determine your quality of life—but without action, there will never be a reaction, and there will never be opportunity for change.
One of my favorite verses in biblical scripture is when Jesus tells us, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34) We sometimes see the water pouring into our lifeboats and simply sit there, bucket in hand, unwilling to begin scooping it up as we move toward shore. We’d rather drown in our own defeat than take the smallest of steps toward the positive.
If there’s even the tiniest of things you can do to improve your situation, do it. If you’re out of shape and don’t know where to start, make small changes. Nourish your body with good things. Start with incremental changes in your diet, go for a short walk, take the stairs whenever possible, and such. If you’re angry and bitter or depressed and frustrated, make small changes. Choose to surround yourself with positive, encouraging stuff—fill your mind with things of good report (Philippians 4:8). Literally count your blessings. If you are in a strained relationship, begin to build a bridge to restoration—brick-by-brick. The bridge won’t build itself.
People who have been badly hurt in an accident, or soldiers who have lost a limb and returned home from battle, don’t often bounce from hospital bed to complete recovery. No, they make incremental improvements during their rehabilitation. They don’t simply skip out the door and go their merry way. They take small steps. Maybe it’s five feet today and ten tomorrow; or maybe it’s only six tomorrow. At least they are taking those steps, making that effort to move forward as best they can. There might be days when they can only go two feet or not even anywhere, but rather than be pulled down by a defeatist mindset, they instead see tomorrow as another opportunity to try again.
Are you satisfied sitting in your sinking boat? Are you fulfilled by lamenting how it used to be? In what areas do you need to take baby steps? Without excuses, take them—BABY STEPS, not Olympic sprints. Great works of art are painted one brushstroke at a time. Houses are built piece-by-piece. Stories are written word-by-word. What do you want your story to be? You alone are the author of your story, so stop blindly slapping at your keyboard, hoping for a literary masterpiece—it’s not going to happen. Stop your flailing hands, focus your eyes, and begin with purpose—one letter at a time.
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