Slow Progress is Still Progress

Do you ever have those days where you don't think you are doing as well as you should be? Maybe you feel like your progress has slowed or even stopped? Of course you do, we all do. When I am feeling like things aren't going the way I would like them to, I find comfort in the words of King Benjamin:

And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order. (Mosiah 4:27)

When it feels like our progress is slow, we need to remember that "it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength." Our progress may be slow at times, but it is still progress. Even if it feels like we are not making any progress, we can look back at where we have come from and see the differences in our lives and realize that we are making progress.

King Benjamin gives us the key for continuing on. We must be diligent. We must continue to do the daily things that got us to the point where we are. We cannot give up. When we begin to feel like our daily actions aren't making a difference, we need to keep going. Diligence is "constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind." If we stop doing the things that got us to this point, we will begin to lose the things we have.

Diligence is the key to winning the prize, and what a prize it is. All that our Father has shall be ours. What more could a child ask?

Every day is a new struggle, but every day we have the ability to call on our Savior and learn from Him how we can overcome our challenges. I recently read a CES Devotional Address by Elder D. Todd Christofferson titled "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread." In this talk, Elder Christofferson recounted a financial struggle he faced earlier in his life. He talks about how this struggle persisted over a period of several years. In looking back, he realized that he would not give up his challenges if he had the chance because of the lessons he learned from them.

Even though Elder Christofferson was speaking about a financial difficulty, his words are also applicable to us as addicts or loved ones of addicts.

Though I suffered then, as I look back now, I am grateful that there was not a quick solution to my problem. The fact that I was forced to turn to God for help almost daily over an extended period of years taught me truly how to pray and get answers to prayer and taught me in a very practical way to have faith in God. I came to know my Savior and my Heavenly Father in a way and to a degree that might not have happened otherwise or that might have taken me much longer to achieve. I learned that daily bread is a precious commodity. I learned that manna today can be as real as the physical manna of biblical history. I learned to trust in the Lord with all my heart. I learned to walk with Him day by day.

Always remember to walk with the Lord each day. Slowly, He will show us the way to true healing. Even slow progress is still progress.