Trust Him in the Process--From A to B

photo by James Briggs

One of the things I love about great writing is that it inspires me to write—it connects old convictions and current changes that are just waiting to be woven together. Tonight, as I finished up “Packinglight” by Ally Vesterfelt, she reflected that

“Sometimes I think we get hung up on objectives, and it makes us too hard on ourselves…but what if the point isn’t the end product? Or what if the end product isn’t what we thought it was? What if the point is the trip, and the end product is us? (p.231).

This quote reminded me of a previous post, last summer, from my time in Kenya, titled “Trust Him in the process” where I discussed how the months I spent in Kenya were less about “wow I made it” and more about how God was changing me and taking me somewhere that was more about my heart than my passport. The journey, not the destination is what changes us. Additionally, I wrote about the precious girl from Kibera who didn’t know English or Swahili—who I spent over an hour trying to help her grasp the concepts of A and B.

Only tonight, in light of Ally’s writing; I was struck by the actual process of teaching her those concepts. It was confusing, neither of us really knew where to start—it’s hard to begin when you don’t know where you’re going. But you miss so much if you let the unknown keep you from trying. It was cognitively and physically messy—my mind spun with the tricks up my sleeves from the amazing early childhood school I worked at the years before—while the locals and teachers looked on with amused skepticism as I motioned and modeled clapping, jumping, and finally three concise hand motions to represent “A, ahh, apple”. By the end of my two months she was able to have a brief conversation and read two and three letter words.

I have to wonder, other than the “not knowing where to start or where we’re going” if God is like that with me. Metaphorically clapping, jumping, stomping “Here I am, look! I am willing to do what it takes for you to see me, hear me, know what I am trying to tell you”. Thankfully, He is eternally patient and infinitely wise in His ways. If either she or I had given up—had been unwilling to clap, stomp, try new and scary things that looked and felt funny—we would have missed out on “A” and never gotten to “B”.  Similarly, if you, I, and Ally are or in the past had been unwilling to step out of our comfort zones—what would we miss? Sure, A to B isn’t always clear or quick—but it’s the process, not simply the place that’s important.