But His joy doesn't translate so well to us. While He's excited that the capstone is being set, we are already envisioning the completed structure. So much so that when we look up and realize that we're still in the process of becoming, we're still under construction, we're still not there yet, we get frustrated, and the wrath from not being at the finish line zaps the grace for the muddy middle.
Or sometimes we don't even begin because the time it would take to become is a waste in our eyes- especially if we can find a short cut through the awkward beginning and the mundane middle.
We just want to BE already. We don't want to be under wraps. We don't want to be growing.
We want to be the sky-scraper, not the skeletal framework. We want to be the rose bush, not the seed. We want to be the masterpiece NOW.
But it doesn't work like that. Even the earth- as massive as it is now- followed the basic rules. There is a beginning, a middle and an end. There is no other way around this order.
Each master was once an amateur, a beginner, a novice, who had no clue what to do but began anyway in the spot they found themselves in- no matter how inconvenient, how bare, how small their spot was.
They started with what they had and grew from that. And as they grew, doors opened up and resources flowed in to match their growing talent.
But it wouldn't have happened if they didn't commit to begin each day that came their way.
The novelty (or for some people, trepidation) of the beginning wears off as the middle settles in and discourages some from their destination.
But you have to remember that you're closer than you were a day, a week, a month, a year ago. You're closer than you were.
And I guess that's where the joy comes in. When you set your foot down and say "I'm becoming an author" or "I'm moving to Los Angeles" or "I'm opening up a bakery" or whatever is screaming inside your heart right now to be brought out, when you set your foot down in determination, with commitment, you are one step closer than you were.
Yea, you just started but that capstone marks a new chapter in your life.
Celebrate that each day because those steps bring you closer to where you want to be.
And think about it- God who is omniscient, who knows the end in the beginning, is the same One who is at the beginning with you, celebrating. He's happy that you started. He's not at the end, at the finish line, tapping his foot, waiting impatiently for you.
He is with you from the very beginning. He's in step with you, excited as you unfold in the journey.
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