I was in my penultimate month of adult braces when I learned that I would get rubber-bands— again. I was so upset by this news that it manifested into my only wearing the bands a few days a week. At my next appointment, my orthodontist took one look and knew I hadn’t been wearing my rubber-bands, thus proving that sometimes, you can’t fake it until you make it. Like me, so many of us have been at the place of almost forfeiting the promise in the middle of the journey or worse, completely giving up a few yards from the finish line.
I asked myself why I was casually courting failure at the edge of breakthrough and here’s what I learned:
The good – I had some entitlement issues going on. I felt like I’d worked hard to get to this point so I should be allowed to breeze through the finals. An attitude adjustment quickly fixed that.
The bad – My desire to stay in my comfort zone meant I wouldn’t/couldn’t pivot when life threw curveballs.
The ugly – I had a bad habit of giving up when things got harder than expected. I traced the habit back to the high school math classes that kicked my butt and later gave birth to massive procrastination and avoidance of failure. You would think that this discovery made me get it together immediately but it took a while.
Sometimes, applying what you know is as hard as trying to get up from a very soft couch to a standing position, without using your hands for the upward thrust.
The same can be said of any spiritual walk. Some curveballs and humps lead to emotion-based spiritual maintenance, weakened will power and doing the bare minimum while still asking God for blessings and more promises. In moments like that, I have learned to repent, pray for strength and apply my will.
Today, my braces came off and guess what they gave me? Retainers. To be worn for 9 months. For 22 hours a day. But that’s how it goes! First God tests how badly you want it. Then He gives it to you. Then you work even harder to maintain it. And you know what, it can’t be any other way.
One of my favorite pastors, Darren Butler, said:
Conditioning comes through consistency. You couldn’t because you wouldn’t; you will, if you would.
In case you’ve forgotten, here’s my personal reminder to you: YOU CAN ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS YOU!