Hope Writer Writing Challenge Day 2: Progress

What is progress?  I think of progress as "moving forward"  and the dictionary says "progress" can be a noun meaning "forward or onward movement toward a destination" or a verb which means "to move forward or onward in space or time".  It is interesting that this word is one that can be used as a noun and a verb.  We actively move toward our goals (verb) or we name the movement toward those goals (noun) as "progress".

Some things progress very slowly, like people.  When we parent our little babies and toddlers, there are many days when we feel like no progress is being made, but over time, they really do grow and develop into bigger, older, more mature people than they were when they were small.  "The days are long and the years are short" is a saying that I have experienced in my own life.  We have had days that felt very long and did not feel like we were making any progress, but at twenty years of parenting our young adult children, I can now look back and see so much progress that they have made. 

There were days as a full-time parent and home educator to our children that I felt discouraged and almost like we were going backwards or things were not turning out as I had hoped, yet in doing the daily things, the most important things, we were making progress that I could not always see.  Being diligent in the mundane, small tasks, built up over weeks, months, and years into great influences in our lives.  Some of the things we did together regularly helped our children grow into the kind, friendly, compassionate, funny, and bright kids that they are today.  Spending time together every day in conversations about all kinds of things helped them to learn not only knowledge about our world, but also that adults care and how to listen to the ideas of others and to voice their own opinions in a respectful way.  Taking time to read the Bible together and to hear stories from great literature taught them about beauty, virtue, faith, history, and how to learn from the mistakes of others.  Praying together every day taught them how to pray on their own and how to come to God in their own prayers.  Their education was not just about academics, but also about growing their hearts and spirits.

"Do you not now that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."  1 Corinthians 9:24-25

 Of course we are all on a journey and we are still trying to make progress in many areas of our lives.  There are still days where it feels like zero progress has been made, but it is such a gift to be able to stop and reflect upon the true progress we have already made.  Each day may not feel like great progress is being made, but over longer periods of time, the progress will become clear.  Keep doing the right things in a diligent way, with perseverance and hope that tomorrow you will move forward, because eventually, you will be able to look back and see how far you have come.