The Value of Process

November 18th, 2010

Two years ago a good friend asked me to help her train to do a ½ marathon. She hates exercise but wanted to do it and knew I liked exercise. I had never done one but I love a challenge and it sounded like a good adventure. Much has happened since that marathon….My friend has gone thru a difficult challenge and my life has totally changed since the 2008 Rock n Roll Marathon. In 2008 Joe cheered us on and met us every few miles to encourage us. The good news is that we completed this ½ marathon 26 minutes quicker than we did 2 years ago…we have both walked thru difficulty and we have prospered! Life is very much like a marathon at times. It is so important that you pace yourself through out so you can endure in the long haul. I loved being immersed in the sea of humanity as we participated in the event this past weekend. Over 30,000 people participated in it from all over the world. I was just one small part of the event that is a benefit for cancer but every little bit counts. Marathons push people beyond what they think they can do but the big reward is not the event itself but the process to get to the event. I trained for over 100 hours to participate in the event that took me 3:34 to complete. Process is so important in the natural and spiritual.

Anyone can read and quote scripture but that doesn’t impress me. It is those people that live it and those that live it when it isn’t easy that impress me. Process in the spiritual shapes our character and it takes time to build good character. We must embrace the privilege of process. Bill Johnson says, “Process is faithful management of what we have been given.” Do you pray for an escape when things get tough or do you embrace the process? Embracing the process means extracting all you can instead of praying “just get me out of this.” I had someone come to me today with a problem. I wasn’t so interested in helping her get out of it but in helping her discover what needed to change in her…that way there was learning in the crisis regardless of the outcome. She learned to forgive someone that really hurt her, she learned to look to God to heal her heart and she learned some other valuable lessons. That is the value of process, not quick deliverance from the problem. We need to be a people that value process because that is what makes us rich. Personally I don’t want to waste one minute of the grief process. I may not like it but I am not going to waste it as I know it will change me as I embrace it. I received the best compliment the other day when someone said, “You have changed. You are different.” My next thought was, “thank God.”

I read Psalm 25:4 and 5 today and loved it. It says, “Show me your ways o Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me. For you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” (NIV) God shows us His ways in process, he will guide us in truth because he is a God of truth and we are anchored because of hope.

Enjoying the process,

Kathleen