Turtle Steps - The Christian Online Magazine

janice@janicealonso.com

One morning as I sat in my office deciding how to tackle the mountain of papers with partially-written stories, out of the corner of my eye a slight movement caught my attention. A box turtle was slogging his way toward my butterfly garden. From the trail he had etched in the lacy cover of morning dew, I could see he had inched his way from a thicket of shrubs about fifteen feet away. As far as the little fellow had come, he still had quite a distance to travel.

My mind wandered to a time when as a young girl, I’d sit on my grandmother’s front porch and she would regal me with stories. Some she made up and others she recalled from her mind’s notebook of tales she’d learned from the Bible, fairy tale books or family lore related to her by her grandmother. As my gaze remained on the turtle, I thought of the story she told most often, “The Tortoise and the Hare.” Even though it’s been over two thousand years since Aesop penned the fable, the same advice still rings true. In case your memory is cluttered with cob webs, as mine often is, I’ll give you a mini version of the tale.

Once upon a time (as all good stories begin), there was a hare bragging about how quickly he could run. A tortoise challenged him to a race. The boastful hare accepted the challenge, thinking how easy it would be to defeat the tortoise since he was one of God’s slowest creatures. The following morning, the two opponents squared off at the starting line and were soon on their way. As expected, the hare easily soared into the far distance. Feeling good about his lead, the hare decided to lie down for a short rest, but he fell into a deep slumber instead. The tortoise continued his slow trudge and crossed the finish line before the hare awoke. Lesson: Slow and steady wins the race.

The Bible, too, reminds us about haste. Proverbs 19:2 says “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. (NIV)” And again in Proverbs, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. (21:5)”

I know too well from experience that when I pile too much into a single day or launch off on an ill planned path, how frustrated I become when things don’t get done. Instead of looking at a list and feeling good about how productive I’ve been, I often focus on what isn’t checked off. I become discouraged and throw up my hands in resignation. Other times I take counsel from Proverbs and Aesop: I slow down and break things into “turtle steps.” Small steps are a steady way to reach any goal.

Does the following scenario sound familiar? My garage cannot stay straightened. There are times when I think someone must have placed outside the door a sign with the words “Dump unwanted items here.” Merely passing through the place (assuming there is a space to pass through) dredges up feelings of inadequacy and guilt. Then one day I decide that tomorrow will be the day when my garage will be spic and span! I begin with much resolve. I start in one corner only to find myself wandering into another area and then another. Not only do I find that I make little progress, I too often become overwhelmed and simply rearrange what was already there. I end by pushing everything back into the garage and closing the door.

Does your job ever feel like it is consuming you, with projects looming over your head like dark clouds? As a writer I love to create stories from simple ideas, especially short pieces. A few years ago I wanted to write a novel. I dove in and typed the first thirty odd pages of the book. Then the reality of writing a story to fill a book zapped the excitement I originally felt. I began and quit, in a start-stop fashion. Eventually I pushed the feeble attempt aside and returned to my short stories.

Turtle steps will guide us to the finish line. When starting a large project, focus on a small segment and complete it. Then concentrate on another part and see it through to its finish. Clean one corner, one shelf or one cabinet in the garage. Instead of fretting over a pyramid of projects, choose the most important one to focus on. Instead of seeing an entire book that needed to be written, I zeroed in on one chapter, building it with one scene followed by another. I completed the novel and have almost finished a second.

Because of our time demands, we feel pressured in an all-or-nothing approach to life. And all too often it’s the “nothing” we feel we’ve walked away with. That morning I had to return to my computer before I saw if my friend made it to the butterfly garden. The sun came out and melted the dew, erasing any evidence that he completed his journey. But I didn’t need any proof that he had achieved his goal. When we lift our plans to God and then set about on a steady course, we’ll always reach our destination.