Little Steps

I hadn’t seen my friend in a while. She looked good. I asked if she’d lost weight.
“Yes.”
I asked how.
“I started watching what I ate. And I ate a little less.”

She was at least the third person in a handful of weeks who I’d noticed looking stronger, more confident, and fit. All of them said something similar. They made a few changes over a long period. Changes so small that no one really noticed the first six months.

Typically, I would prefer a new dress size the first day I skip dessert, but that isn’t genuine change. It’s a miracle.

Little Compromises

Have you ever been warned that small compromises lead to sin?

This is undoubtedly helpful knowledge, to realize that David didn’t plot to take his commander’s wife and then murder him to hide it. 2 Samuel 11-12

It happened first, in the spring. David shirked his duty and did not go out to war, as was the custom for kings. Next, he went up to the roof (possibly) during the bathing hour. Then, he made the effort to call someone and inquire about the woman he saw. Then, knowing she was married and being in a position where she could not refuse him—he sent for her… So many steps and opportunities led up to it.

But we can become stymied only worrying about how every action might result in wrong steps and lead to destruction.

Just like cutting out dessert, you can take small steps toward submission.

Little Shifts

When Jesus was in the garden the night before his crucifixion, he first prayed to let the cup of suffering be taken away from him. He didn’t want to do it at that moment. The next two times he prayed, there was change. He said, “if it cannot be taken away…“ ”” Matthew 26:36-46

Changes over time, either better or worse, both become obvious.

They will show in your manuscript, too. It would be so nice to sit down and write a novel in a weekend. The people who have done that probably didn’t start there. They worked up to the heavy lift.

Of course, there are exceptions. But for the rest of us, it is the small steps. It is a hundred words at a time unfolding your story on the page.

What small step are you taking today?

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Beliefs represented by individual authors are not necessarily shared by all members of ICW.