Practice Makes Perfect (or not)

Practice makes perfect. I'm sure you've heard this at least once in your life, and if you're like me, you've heard it over and over - sports, piano, clarinet, washing dishes... Well, I've come to believe (okay, honesty here - I've come to know), it's a lie! Nothing short of a big, fat lie. Don't believe me? Just let me serenade you on the clarinet or the piano and you'll quickly come to agree 100%. Despite all the lessons. Despite all the practice under my mother's watchful eye, and ear, I don't do either one perfect. I don't even do them well!

There is hope though. Although I don't believe practice makes perfect, I do believe that practice makes improvement; even when I don't want to practice at all.

One of the greatest lessons I have learned in my spiritual walk was from my Disciple I teacher, Carol Foster. At the time, I was really struggling with one of my co-workers. When it came time for prayer request, I made the logical request of prayer, for tolerance of my co-worker. You should have seen the look on Carol's face, almost a look of horror. Shaking her head back and forth, as if I had just broken the most sacred of commandments, she told me, "Oh, you don't ever want to pray for tolerance or patience; God just might give them to you." I'm sure she went on to explain further, but I didn't hear another word she said. I was shocked. Carol was a devout Christian, an excellent teacher, a minister's wife and the mother of my minister; how could she, and why would she, tell me not to pray for something I needed? Well, unfortunately, I found out the hard way: practice makes improvement.

You see, people like me think we should (and can) ask for something like patience and get it, just like that. You know, the "God give me patience and I want it right now!" approach. The funny (not funny ha ha) thing is, and what Carol was trying to tell me was, that's not how God works. With God, when we ask for patience, instead of waving a magic wand and poof we have them, most of the time God provides us with situations that require patience. Situations that allow us to nurture and grow our patience. It's the same with tolerance. In order to gain tolerance, we have to come in contact with people or situations that require tolerance. Likewise, in order to really learn to love, like Christ loved, we have to come into contact with the unlovable. Although practice doesn't make perfect, it does make improvement; and the only way we can really improve is to practice.

If there's an area in your life that you need to improve, pray about it. Ask God to help you do better. But don't be surprised if the area becomes more challenging as you nurture and grow the new skill God is teaching you. Worse yet, if you don't learn it the first time through, you can count on it coming around again (and again) to give you a little more practice.

"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as [daughters]. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:7, 11

My Prayer:

Lord, thank you that you hear my prayers. Thank you that you love me like a parent and that you allow me to grow through life's hardships that come my way. Help me to remember that the very hardships I face may have been brought on at my own request. Thank you for loving me even when I complain about practicing the very skill I have asked for. Amen.