Little by Little

by Andrew Cromwell

Some things in life seem to take a while. That doesn’t often sit well with our “instant” mentality. We have done everything we can in our world to arrange things so that we can get them quickly. I know this because of the level of frustration I experience when things are not as fast as I expect them to be.

When I have to wait in the drive-thru lane for more than five minutes, I know something’s wrong. When I have to actually go into the bank because I can’t do what I want either online or at the ATM, I know something’s wrong. When I can’t find a grocery or convenience store that is open 24 hours, I know something is way wrong. When the doctor isn’t able to tell me what is wrong with my body AND give me a pill to fix it (or at least fix the symptoms), that’s not just wrong it’s unacceptable. Oh, and most frustrating of all, when something is not available on Amazon Prime so I can order it online and get it in two days to my door.

The level of ease and speed we have become accustomed to in receiving our goods and services is incredible. We live in an amazing world and an amazing country. And I certainly am not suggesting that being able to obtain things quickly is a bad thing, but to have all these things at our fingertips tends to make us a little impatient when things don’t go our way.

Because there are so many things in life that are nearly instantaneous and effortless, we make the mistake of assuming that everything can be that way. But some things simply take time.

A little bit less than a year and a half ago, my seven year-old suffered a stroke that affected the right side of his body and his speech. When he first woke up from several weeks in intensive care, he couldn’t smile, he couldn’t talk, and he couldn’t move his right arm or right leg. The doctors told us that it would be a long recovery but that because a young child’s brain is so flexible that his chances of a full recovery were very good.

Eighteen months later, we are still learning the virtues of both patience and hope. There are days when we have been so frustrated, wondering if we were doing the right things. Some days we ask ourselves, should we be doing more therapy? Should we be pushing harder? Is it our fault that he is not farther along? And then on other days, we remember to look back to where he started and contrast it to where he is today. Today he is talking better and better and he is starting to catch up to where he should be in reading. Today he is using his right hand more than ever, sometimes even without thinking about it.

Sure there is a long way to go, but we are seeing that little things are adding up. We are learning that sometimes little by little is the best way because it teaches us to rely on God daily. It teaches us that we don’t need to have everything right this instant. We are reminded that sometimes it is better to wait.

But I would not be honest if I told you that we don’t still get frustrated. We still get impatient. We still would prefer to have everything right now. But then we remember what God told His people in Isaiah, “one line at a time, a little here and a little there!”

So the next time you are discouraged that things are taking too long, remember that sometimes the best things take a while!