It Doesn’t Look Good Until the End

I’ve been painting. A lot. While priming, painting, repainting walls, doors, baseboards, windows, and trim, I’ve had time to think about the lessons contained in this craft. One thing I’ve noticed is that midway through painting, things look pretty ugly. The old color shows through the streaks of new paint and the job doesn’t look good until the final coat goes on. Until I learned to trust the process, this was discouraging. 

It seems to me that many things are like this. A child learning to play violin sounds awful until one day he doesn’t. A student of Latin finds it boring and then one day he discovers that he enjoys it. The entrepreneur is in debt for years and then one day his business takes off and he becomes rich. 

Painting has been the occasion for me to grow in patience. This week, I invite you to ask yourself: 

What am I impatient with right now? What would change for me if I viewed the objects of my impatience as part of the process? Might it be that these things are a gift? 

What have I given up on because things didn’t look good during the process? Which of these am I willing to take up again so that I can persevere until the final coat? 

God bless,
Dan