Progress not Perfection

Pushing himself up off the mat, I saw the enormous effort needed to suspend his body weight for only a few moments of supposed freedom. As I lunged and stretched my aching back in response to the physical therapist’s commands my eyes kept returning to this young man. He looked no more than eighteen. It was difficult to watch him struggling so intensely to make even the smallest movement. Then I noticed it—the black, worn wheelchair parked alongside his treatment table. I quietly observed his therapist in between my own exercises. She looked caring and positioned her body directly into his sphere when instructing his movements. As I watched him later exit the clinic after a tough session, I noticed that she had draped her arm over his shoulder while his arms were busy pushing his wheelchair ahead.

Watching this exchange between therapist and patient reminded me of a particular phrase from a talk that I recently gave, God is not looking for perfection—He is looking for progress. These words were part of a speech on goal setting which I offered to residents of a local jail at our annual spring retreat. During my presentation I reminded them that God invites us to surrender our will to Him so that we can become the person He created us to be. “God is far more concerned with who we are becoming rather than what we are accomplishing. It’s not failure when you begin again, setting new goals for your life. It’s actually a sign of faith, maturity and growth. Sometimes in life we chase things that we later realize are not good for us—God invites us to recognize these distractions and make better decisions. As we seek to walk closer with God each day, He teaches us to let go of what doesn’t last so we can hold on to what does. God is not looking for perfection—He is looking for progress. So take it one day at a time and trust in the Author of life who loves you unconditionally.”

I see progress within the jail every week. Inmates making new choices for a better life; forgiving their past abusers and themselves, reaching out in friendship to new residents who are trying to get clean from drugs and alcohol, and inviting others who are seeking a healthy life to join their Bible study. This is progress and it is beautiful in God’s eyes.

Thinking back to the young man in the wheelchair, his progress was also something which deeply affected me. His small movements were part of his overall journey to more independence. Perfection wasn’t the goal, just progress towards a happier life given his current circumstances. Much like the women residents of the jail. We can all make progress in life no matter where we are. We don’t have to wait for the “perfect job, home, spouse, friend, etc.” rather we just have to keep making small steps forward in faith as we slowly progress in becoming the women (and men) that God created us to be.