Last week, I decided to incorporate some art into the kids daily home school schedule. I thought they'd welcome something new and "fun" into their routine, but that first day, I was met with sobs of, "This is too hard," and "I can't do this!" OK...I wasn't ready for that, but I also wasn't ready to give up. Little by little, each day, they warmed up to "art" more and more. Now, every day, they are coming to their desks and choosing to do art first, using YouTube tutorials to draw some pretty awesome pictures. I had to laugh today, when all five kids were working on various art projects, in their free time, and having fun. (I must say art rather loosely as Eva's idea of art is scribbling with crayon all over a paper, getting half of it on the floor, then taking scissors and cutting the paper up into tiny bits!) How did we get from the crying and complaining just two weeks ago to this point? I'm so glad we didn't give up!
In order to do anything well, we have to practice, and have patience in the learning process. And we also have to be willing to learn, to be teachable, to be receptive to instruction. Sometimes, breaking things down one step at a time helps us to realize they aren't as difficult as we first think. It may take many attempts to master something new, but isn't it worth the effort and the potential risk of disappointment, to be able to say, "I did it!" In so many ways I can see this same scenario playing out in my faith walk. I experience a deep valley, am tested with something that seems "just too much" to handle, and I want to give up. I like the familiar, the safe, the easy road. But, one step at a time, day by day, God gives me just the strength that I need to get through whatever that trial or test may be. It is a humbling experience to be sure, to step out into that unknown for the first time, not knowing what might happen. But doesn't this kind of test also cause us to lean in closer to God more than ever? Doesn't it deepen our faith and reliance on Him? And if we really stop to ponder all of this, isn't that the kind of relationship He wants with us, every single day, one of total dependence and trust?
I read Hebrews 12 yesterday in The Message, and there was something about reading it in that translation that really hit me. It reminded me that Jesus is the perfect model for me to follow when times are tough, that I can learn so much from His example, and gain courage to face whatever seems impossible to me, knowing He already faced it and that He is ready to walk with me through it. God pushes me to do things, to try things, that I may not feel comfortable with, that I may not want to do, and that I may not feel capable of doing. The walk of faith is an ever-deepening one. It is never meant to be easy. 
Hebrews 12:1-13 (The Message)
1-3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
4-11 In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?
My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline,
but don’t be crushed by it either.
It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.
God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.
12-13 So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!
What is God calling you to do or try today? Don't back down from His discipline and training, but embrace it as an opportunity to grow even closer to Him. You won't regret it!
