Quite often, we are our own worst critics. We give ourselves no room for mistakes, harshly react when they happen, and then get upset that the change we want to see in our lives doesn’t happen overnight. The consequence? We lose our joy, and peace evaporates. I remember many years ago when learning (or trying to learn) the piano, berating myself for wrong notes, shaking my head, uttering indistinguishable noises of disgust…much to the amusement of my teacher who would gently tell me to relax and keep going (It’s not the end of the world, was her often unspoken thought!).
He’s still workin’ on me, to make me what I ought to be,” and being confident of this, “that HE who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion….” (Phil.1:6)
But change, lasting change, really happens over time, incrementally and often with a three-steps forward one-step backward movement plan, and to be harsh on ourselves when it doesn’t happen instantaneously, is to be impractical and idealistic. Let’s face it—we’re all still work-in-progress! We bridle at abuse being perpetuated on others, so let’s cut out the self-abuse and give change some space, while remembering that: “He’s still workin’ on me, to make me what I ought to be,” and being confident of this, “that HE who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion….” (Phil.1:6) So, ‘let’s go’ let’s cut ourselves some slack, and celebrate the incremental changes that God is effecting in our lives.