Progress

“Slow progress is still progress.” “Your direction is more important than your speed.” “Slow progress is better than no progress.” These are just a few of the quotes I’ve heard most recently that relate to keeping perspective when it comes to growth. I’m not going to rain on that parade; I’m just going to add some nuance to that, and encourage a shift in perspective depending on the particulars of the current struggle.

As a not-quite-middle-aged woman fighting to keep the cumulative effects of questionable genes and a desk job at bay, one of the habits I’ve been working to form and maintain over the last few years is that of exercise. It’s never been my idea of fun to rise before the sun and actually run, but nevertheless, here I am. A few days ago, I ran 5 kilometers in the blistering (read that with a self-deprecating and slightly sarcastic tone) time of 32 minutes and 43 seconds. To put that in general perspective, an average varsity cross-country time is sub-18 minutes, my husband’s time is 26-27 minutes, and a friend’s time is in the 23-minute range. In that context, my time of 32-33 minutes is far from spectacular. 

In a different context, however, my time isn’t too bad. About 3 years ago, at my first competitive 5K, my official time was 48:12. About a year ago, it was 40 minutes, but a month ago it was 32:04. I’ve made significant progress in the last year, but I’ve taken what could be considered a step backward in the last month. If I’m hyper-focused on always making progress, even slow progress, by improving my time, this is when perhaps discouragement would start to set in. I’m not making progress this month. In the long run though (no pun intended), the bigger picture shows something different.

Those two different pictures can help to spur me on with renewed motivation and dedication depending on where I’m struggling. If complacency is getting the better of me, perhaps it would be wiser to look at the short-term, to focus on the slower times in recent history, and see how that encourages me to continue on. But if discouragement is more the issue, the longer perspective might be where I need to look for a while. Maybe I need to be reminded that despite the last month, I really have been strengthened, I really can run more and farther and faster, and the hard work and effort truly has paid off.

It’s much the same with other areas, particularly our spiritual growth. If complacency is setting in, it is likely not a wise decision to take the long view to see how much holier I can consider my life to be now than when I first come to Christ. There is a time for that, but the antidote for complacency is a renewed awareness of besetting sin, and that comes from almost a microscopic inspection of actions, thoughts, and motives, not over time but in the here and now. Likewise, if discouragement is setting in, an intense focus on my current shortfalls may drive me more to despair. A consideration of how I have seen the Lord’s faithfulness to sanctify me and reform me in His image may be more helpful, a calming salve to a weary soul. They’re both good and necessary views to have; it just requires wisdom and discernment to know where to focus at any particular point in time. 

I don’t know where you are right now, or what the struggles of your heart and mind are. Perhaps a shift in your focus may help to encourage you, to motivate you, and to spur you on to continued love and good works.