Practice makes...

Today I heard the most amazing wisdom.  The second graders were complaining about the difficulty of a particular piece of computing.  I told them that it would get easier with practice and that they would have the procedure down pat by 5th grade.  One of the students said, "oh right, 'Practice makes Perfect'."  The teacher corrected him, saying, "Practice makes Permanent."

I felt such a lightening of spirit and mind.  Forget about perfect - I'll take progress and permanence.


I need help.  I am deformed, defective, broken and crude.  My life is so far from perfect!  Yet I am under the delusion that it should be.  What a relief to find out that it's about practice.  It's about trying again.  It's about asking God for help and not just "when I need it" because there is never a time when I don't need it, although there are many times when I don't want it. 

There are days when most of us are like whining second graders.  "This is too hard!"  It is too hard when I try to do it alone, and when I beat myself up for not being perfect. Let's start giving ourselves high-fives for getting out of bed in the morning.  In fact, let's give ourselves a hug and a pat on the back for trying to get out of bed!

Blooming despite the weeds