But I have found myself lacking in ability to enjoy and embrace the daily dips of difficulty.
The wear and tear can be so discouraging.
It hit me during our Easter message at church when the speaker said something like:
“what we are really celebrating at Easter is THE PROCESS.”
The process through which Jesus Christ put into action Heavenly Father’s plan of redemption, exaltation and eternal life. The process through which Jesus Christ won the fight.
And also the process of me becoming like Him.
How can I celebrate the process more?
My regard for the process, I find, often isn’t celebratory.
My regard turns to frustration for my weakness, my failures, my slip-ups, my blunders, my repetitive behaviors I strive to change, overall my lack of progress.
How do I celebrate the process? What does it look like?
Celebrate is such a positive, cheerful word. How do I stay positive and cheerful when the process feels unrelenting and so discouraging?
I realized while on our traditional Sunday family walk on Easter how often children emulate this.
They just keep trying.
My daughter found a bunch of pinecones and wanted to pick them all up. She kept picking them up with her right hand, then cradling the pinecones gently in her left arm. Eventually, her tiny arms were so full that as she would bend to pick up another, a cradled pinecone would fall down to the rocks. She kept picking up the fallen pinecones, just to have more fall. I finally started recording her on my phone because she just kept quietly going and going, repeating the process.
But she finally did it.
She was able to cradle them all in her arms.
And then she walked and walked and walked, holding all the pinecones.
“I did it!” she said.
Until she dropped one. She asked me for help to hold a pinecone while she picked up the dropped one. Then readily accepted it back. She kept walking with determination.
Then she saw her dad and picked up speed as she focused on getting to him to show him the pinecones.
But slowly she started grunting, her grip slipping, she slowed her steps, paused to take deep breaths and said, “It’s so heavy.”
Then she made it to dad, and she handed all the pinecones over to him. With excitement and joy she kept the biggest one to hold herself.
What she reminded me was that THE PROCESS of going after a goal doesn’t always appear successful right away. The PROCESS is messy.
She reminded me that the adaptation, the change, the stretching of our brain to find a way that works is what THE PROCESS is all about. The PROCESS takes time.
She reminded me that it takes repeating THE PROCESS to make it work.
She reminded me we will drop pinecones. It’s ok. Ask for help. Relief and support is there. Keep going. Keep our eye on the biggest goal- our Father. It will get harder. Take deep breaths. Pause. Keep taking one step at a time.
She reminded me that:
-Patience
-Courage to keep going
-Commitment
-Compassion for ourselves
-Believing we are capable
-and Humility with the time it takes
during THE PROCESS
……. is a way to CELEBRATE THE PROCESS.
So what if I celebrated the process?
What would change?
I think I would be able to remember that all those shortcomings ARE the process. All those fallen pinecones are the success of the process.
In celebrating the process, it seems the sustainability of efforts, just like my daughter – would be more likely.
My outlook through the process would feel more productive, more focused, more ready to tackle whatever comes.
It seems that through celebrating the process I would be leaning into the struggles and accepting them for what they truly are… not something to be defeated about, but something to find gratitude in.
With a need to exercise the patience, courage, commitment, and humility it takes to get through the process I am becoming. I’m growing. I’m expanding. I’m becoming better.
And yes isn’t that goal the end prize, but what we become while attaining that goal is what holds more eternal value. And where we can end up when our eyes are focused on our Father brings the greatest joy of all.
And oh how grateful I am for my Savior, Jesus Christ, in performing the process so I can receive that relief and support through my own process.
Let’s celebrate the process.
