Note: This is a post that I wrote a while ago that I decided not to share become it felt “incomplete”. Today, I looked at it and thought “this is good enough”, so…enjoy. :)
Lately, my son has really been working on walking.
He’ll stand and move while holding on to the chest cabinet. Grab my hand. Then grab the chair. Grab me again. Then grab the table. Then repeat until he eventually plops down or gets upset, whichever happens first.
Some days the process feels easy. Those are the days when my son is okay standing and gradually working on moving his legs in a way to practice walking. Other days there’s a fair amount of tears and fuss. Those are the days when my son gets frustrated cause he just isn’t moving in the way that he wants to. Those are the days where he’s getting a bit ahead of himself. He doesn’t want to be so dependent on me to get to where he wants to be. He doesn’t want his legs to be so wobbly anymore. He just wants to be where he wants to be!
The impatience that I see in my son during this process doesn’t appear to be that much different from the impatience I’ve seen in adults when we’re wanting and trying to make changes.
I’ve seen the depressed person who just wants to start feeling better so they don’t have to be feeling so miserable all the time.
I’ve seen the person with panic attacks who just wants them to stop so they get back to living their lives.
I’ve seen the person with a health condition who just wants to start feeling better so they can get back to functioning the way they used to.
And I get, I had plenty of moments like this recently when I felt so run down and exhausted from illnesses that I just wanted to start feeling better so I could get back to living normally again.
It’s hard to be in pain. It’s hard to feel uncomfortable. And it’s even harder to be in that state when it’s been going on for what feels like too long.
But the reality is that there are no quick fixes when it comes to growth and healing. My son isn’t going to go from laying on the floor to walking around the room overnight.
Change takes time.
Growth takes time.
Healing takes time.
We can’t wave a magic wand and our broken arm will now function normally again. We can’t wave a magic wand and those leg muscles that we need to walk will suddenly just be built up the way they need to. We can’t wave a magic wand and grow from 9 months old to 5 years old overnight.
Change takes time.
Just as fruit trees need time for their flowers to bloom and the fruit to grow, we also need time to move from one season to another.
Just as the buried acorn needs the right nourishment from the soil, water and sun to grow into an oak tree, we also need care and nourishment to grow.
Just as the caterpillar needs time to eat and prepare before making a cocoon and changing into a butterfly, we also need time to transform into who we are meant to become.