Progress
Hopewriter Challenge
Day 2 Progress
Winston loves to sit on my feet and is a kind companion, however when it comes to smarts,let’s just say it takes him a little time to catch onto things. Progress comes slow for him.
We began to notice this at puppy kindergarten. He was wonderful at play-time, rolling on his back so that the other puppies could climb on top of him and chew on his ears. But when it came to skills, the orange slices I kept in my treat pouch were our saving grace.
Apparently, our instructor had not picked up on this fact. She made the mistake of choosing Winston as her example for Graduation Day.
Her intent was to show all the puppy owners and their guests the progress their canine babies had made. Calling Winston to the front of class she spoke out a command for him to follow, “Sit!” she called out.
Winston’s eyes arched up at her questioningly. She repeated the command. Still his face looked puzzled. Finally on the third try he got the idea and slowly sank back on his haunches. She tried the next command with hope and vigor but again he just couldn’t get it. The instructor broke into a sweat as she went through every command we had practiced for 12 weeks and sure enough Winston didn’t get a single one on cue.
Despite the lack of progress, I was proud of him. My affection towards him did not change. In fact it might have even grown just a tad. I knew he loved his oranges and she wasn’t offering them. I saw progress but it wasn’t in following the commands.
Progress comes slow for me too, or at least progress the way I define it. And that’s where I think my mistake lies. I have my own checklist, parameters and timelines. God has such a kinder lens. What he is working on is often hidden from my eyes. He sees the whole of me and understands my needs. He celebrates my smallest steps and applauds even tiny bits of courage. So I think today I will give my idea of progress a bit more space to breathe and instead let God sing His love over me. And by the way, Winston did graduate from puppy kindergarten and throughly enjoyed his celebratory puppy popsicle!