A Dose of Real Life and a Metaphor

Real life: I have five gloriously alive children.  That means that right now, I have a pile of sleeping bags in my office area (we call it the library, though no books live there) from when my kids camped out in the backyard last week.  We hung out in the basement all yesterday afternoon, ignoring necessary housework and meal preparation, because it was just hot.  I read aloud and my kids played with K'Nex and Construx and Monopoly, which are all still out on the basement floor, accompanied by a fort/coop that my 4-year-old and 6-year-old built out of the wood their daddy stores down there for his woodworking.  We ate leftover pancakes and frozen grapes for dinner (at 9 pm) because it was just too hot to cook.  We went to bed late.

This morning, I woke up with my baby at 5:30, changed her diaper and went back to bed (with her) until 7:30.  Janie came in to play with Rebecca and crawled into bed with us.  I closed all the windows and blinds.  The boys got up early and went back to their Monopoly game, and were fighting about it when I called them away for prayer.   (That is an essential first step for the day.  We can always tell if we miss it because my kids are at each other more than usual all day long.)  It's 10 am and we haven't had breakfast yet.  It was 81 degrees in my house this morning, after a night of leaving windows open and running window fans.  It was 92 inside last night.  I sent the kids out with a jar of water balloons to fill so they could be outside and (hopefully) stop bickering.  The baby is messy and covered with juice and syrup from their pickup breakfast (more leftover pancakes and grapes).  She is happy and sweet, and the older kids are happy and healthy and creative and fun.  The heat gets to us all, but we love each other and we really are getting better about being kind.

Real life is messy.  It is hard.  And it is glorious.  I make mistakes all the time.  I don't know what I am doing much of the time, with my family or in any other responsibility.  I'm just doing the best I can, and I fall down regularly, and then I get up again and keep trying.  So much of life we learn on the job.  I believe that God is much more merciful with us than we are with ourselves.  He doesn't want us to feel bad all the time, to feel like failures because we aren't doing everything just right.  He loves us, and He knows that we are trying, and that is good enough for Him.

Now for a metaphor:
When my sweet babies learn to walk, it is difficult for them.  They see other people walking and want to do it too, but they fall down a lot at first.  We encourage them to get up and keep trying.  We tell them they are doing great, even when they fall down, because they are!  We know that the trying and failing are part of the process of learning.  So we cheer them on and clap for them and we are so excited for them when they finally get it.  And they are so proud of themselves.
Can you imagine someone following their baby around, criticizing him because he couldn't walk yet?  Saying, "What is wrong with you?  Why can't you get this?  Why is this so hard for you?  Your sister can walk!  She could walk when she was younger than you are!  You just aren't trying hard enough!"  You would think that parent was crazy!  But we do it to ourselves all the time!  Can't you see that it is the same principle?
Chances are, whatever role you play in your life right now, you are learning as you go.  You started out with that responsibility not knowing how to do it.  But you didn't let that hold you back.  You were brave enough to try anyway.  Maybe, just maybe, we should put away the constant mental criticism that is following us around ("What is wrong with me?  Why is it so hard for me to get this right?  I should be better than this!") and instead cheer ourselves on.  We are all, figuratively, learning to walk.  We want to do it, it is in our nature to be able to do it, but we have to learn one step at a time just like everyone else.  Some have better examples to follow than others, but we all have to learn to take the steps for ourselves.  Wouldn't it be better to say something like this?  "You can do this.  You are doing great!  Look how far you've come.  Look how much better you are doing than yesterday, or last month, or last year!  You are going to get this if you just keep trying."  I believe that is what our Heavenly Father is saying to us, if we would only take the time to listen.  He doesn't want us to get discouraged and give up.  He wants us to keep trying.  He knows that if we do, we will eventually get there.  This life is not an exercise in doing everything right.  It is a learning experience, learning how to "walk" over and over and over again until we have attained our true potential.  So be patient, and keep trying, and you will get there.  And you will know what it took to get there, how much work you put in, and you will be glad.