A Learning Process

Have you ever been kayaking? If you have then you will know that it takes a lot of balance. The hard part is that you have to sit still while moving your arms to paddle. Usually when it is your first time you start off really slow because you are afraid of flipping the whole thing over. But, once you get the hang of it, you can't seem to go fast enough. It is a whole lot of fun, but afterwards your arms are like jelly.

We tend to treat situations in our lives like this. We manage to get into the boat, but we are so worried about falling in the water. We make that first step, but we worry too much about how to get from point A to point B. We fear messing it up or not making it to the end at all. But, once we get the feel for the whole situation and we realize how it works, we think to ourselves "wow, this isn't hard at all." It's that initial learning process that throws us for a loop. But, beyond that it turns out great. When you are kayaking you learn that your paddle has to be turned a certain way in order to push through the water. You also learn that you can use your paddle to do all sorts of steering. In situations that we face, we start to learn what to do and it becomes so much easier. But, if we had never spent time learning, we would still be back at ground zero afraid to climb into the boat. You can't skip over the lesson. The lesson is what shapes you into the end product of what God has planned. Just like a begginer at kayaking who goes into the water shaky and comes back out confident, we tend to go into the situation full of apprehension and come out thinking "what was I so worried about." You are going to slip up and mess up but that is all part of the learning process. Take it one step at a time, don't rush it. They didn't build Rome in a day, you know!!!

Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.