BABY STEPS

Yesterday at work, I was watching a 1-year old walk, and boy I tell you...there are few motions in life as shaky as a baby learning to walk. It was so foreign to him. Every part of his body was trying to figure out what to do. He'd make two steps and fall down, he'd accidentally step backwards, he'd wobble side to side and make no progress. It was an adorable sight to see, but it really got me thinking about the idea of taking 'baby steps' in my own life. I wondered... does taking a baby step in life simply mean taking a step toward something, or does a baby step in life look more like an actual baby's step?

When the time comes for me to start all over again...whether it be because a relationship has just ended, a job fell through, or I've just moved to a new city...I understand that I am entering into some sort of process. Healing is a process, job hunting is a process, making friends is a process. Each day I'll make a small, conscious effort toward my goal. But it's never too long until I am frustrated with my lack of progress. This is when I'll get tempted to make some MAJOR move. I've given it 3 months and I'm not over this break up yet?! Well I'm lonely so I'm gonna go and find a rebound boyfriend to help me speed up the process. And all of a sudden those small, essential baby steps to healing are thrown out the window. 

I soon realized that all of the processes we go through are more than just processes. In a way, they are like learning to walk again. When you've lost something huge it can paralyze you. You can easily forget how to operate in life without that thing. Don't be lazy and go back to crawling just because you are afraid to learn to walk again. Take baby steps. Those super shaky, teeny tiny, sometimes stagnant, always uncertain baby steps. 

Taking baby steps in life isn't just about breaking down a process into blocks of time or stages. Taking baby steps is about making 2 steps and falling down, accidentally stepping backwards and learning from it, sometimes wobbling side to side and seeing no progress. It's about not giving up. It's about believing that God is going to give your arms the ability to stabilize you and your feet the ability to walk straight and your legs the strength to carry the weight of your body. It's about being okay with not knowing exactly how to walk, but embracing the process of learning. And it may not look as adorable as a 1 year old's walk, but there is something so beautiful and innocent about welcoming the process it takes to learn to walk again. 

"I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." Philipians 3:14