My wife and I recently had the “pleasure” of painting the
interior of our house. While we were definitely excited about putting our mark
on our house (we painted every surface on the interior of our house: all the
trim, all the doors, all the walls), it was exhausting.
I really hate painting. I know that I’m horrible at it,
which is also part of the reason why I hate it. I will work really hard to
paint something and make sure it looks good. And then when I step back, it
looks HORRIBLE!
Thankfully, my brother is a professional painter and came
down to help us. Eager to learn some tricks from a pro, I asked lots of
questions about the most basic of things and wanted him to show me how to do
it. I was amazed at how much I learned! Just by asking some simple questions, I
learned how to become a much better painter.
Despite how much I learned, I realized that I was still
nowhere near the same skill level as my brother. I would take forever to cut in
a door or a window. My brother would grab the brush and do it in a fraction of
the time. We were using the same brush and the same tools, but there were
vastly different results.
I was reminded of that old adage, practice makes perfect. As
much as I wanted to be awesome at painting, having the right tools and tricks
didn’t make me as good as my brother. It was the fact that he had done it time
and again. Then came a line of questioning that got me thinking about broader
elements of life.
How good do I want to be at painting? Do I want to be as
good as my brother? What would I have to give up to be as good as my brother?
What do I spend my time doing? Are those the things I want to be good at? For
me, that line of questioning was an opportunity for some self-reflection, and I
challenge you to think about it as well.
I think anyone who has kids wants to be a good parent, but
does how you spend your time reflect that desire? No one wants to be a terrible
musician, but does how you spend your time reflect your desire? What about
writing, sports, knowledge, intelligence, or whatever else can be inserted?
I say that more
important than all of those is my commitment to Christ. But does how I spend my
time reflect that?
Greg Creek
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