Month: March 2013

I’m sure you’ve heard of baby steps, the small steps we make to work toward a larger goal.  It is keeping the eye on the prize, but starting with little prizes that lead us to the bigger picture.  As humorously as Bill Murray translated it, it can be a seriously helpful concept.

For me, it is a part of daily life.  Even the smallest of accomplishments can be considered a success in your journey to a greater outcome.  And after all, isn’t it said that this life is not destination, but rather, a journey?

What I really love are the people in my life who see my successes, when I see a struggle.  When I came to my sponsor, irritated with unreliable friends, she recognized a new accomplishment in this journey: I had learned what qualities I do and do not want in a friendship.  Success!  (Her perspective reminded me of the little old lady with a walker at a restaurant in NC.)

These are baby steps.

For a while, I walked around with a daily list.  That list contained 25 things that I could choose to accomplish on any given day, activities that would work toward a healthy life.  My goal, was to accomplish as many as possible during each day.  I highlighted as I went along, and could look back on each day as a success.  I had spent time that day, working toward my recovery.

You know, looking back over my years of drama, torment, depression, and darkness, I see that I always wanted to run.  All of my favorite songs were about running away.  To get where is uncertain, but I knew I didn’t want to be who I was and where I was.

Ironically, it wasn’t running that got me to where I wanted to be.  It was baby steps.  And I’m grateful that I had an opportunity to take the scenic route, because it was that growth that I want to hold onto, those moments of revelation that I want to reflect upon.  Today, I hear those songs and I cannot relate.  I can’t imagine anywhere I’d rather be than right where I am.

To illustrate my point, a baby polar bear, learning to walk:

God, I come to You humbled by the work You have done and are constantly doing in my life.  I thank You.

God, I ask that You show me opportunities daily where I can glorify You and serve others.  I ask that You give me the strength to serve You in every capacity, to step out of my comfort zone and work as Your disciple.

God, please stay always close in my mind, heart, and spirit.  You are my everything.  Help me live in such a way that my body becomes a tool to glorify and serve You.

Help me remember always that I am a new person in You, free from the bondage that used to dictate my life.  Show me also, who I am capable of being in You, and don’t ever accept less from me.  Guide me down the path that You designed for me, and help me fulfill my purpose in You.

Mold me daily into a better human being.  Help me to see others through Your eyes, and treat others with the same respect, love, and forgiveness that You have for them.

Help me stay moment-by-moment in a state of gratitude for the miracles you have performed and are performing in my life.

Help to perfect me, and help me to mature.  Give me the stability and determination it takes to accomplish even everyday, ordinary tasks consistently.  Help me to put away selfishness, stubbornness, and hard-headedness to accomplish all these things for Your glory.

Amen.