Victory Over Procrastination - How To Conquer the Cascade
Posted: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
by Alfred Spengly
http://www.alfredspengly.com
Have you ever had one of those divine appointments with a book? A book you just "happened" to pick up to read and it spoke directly into your life? One of those times where God is speaking to you as if it were face to face, giving you a direct insight into your life? A time when it seems like God's voice is almost audible?
I have had a few instances like this, but there is one in particular that stands as exceptionally conspicuous. It was when I had read a book I purchased as a result of my-as I had thought at the time-aimless perusing at the local Christian bookstore. I wanted something to read but did not know what to get. I was thirsty but did not know what for.
In the meantime, I had recently purchased a house and quickly realized that the plumbing needed to be replaced. The hot water had given only a bit more than a trickle of water, and I thought, "Ah ha, new territory to conquer!" I always dreamed of building a house, and, now, here was an opportunity to experience at least a smidgen.
I quickly began to research the various types of plumbing options. There was the possibility of PVC, copper, and galvanized pipe. But galvanized pipe being the contributor to the problem I was having, I decided that building a labyrinth of copper pipe was much more intriguing.
Having decided on the copper, I began to pull back from reading the book I had purchased from the Christian bookstore and purchased books from the local building-material store on installing copper pipe. I began studying all the different angles of working with and soldering copper plumbing. Then, once it got to the point where I felt I was sufficiently informed on the process of installing the pipe, I put the books down and proceeded to purchase the tools and material I needed. I felt confident about engaging in the project ahead and proceeded to the basement to begin.
The whole process was enjoyable. Cutting the pipes to length. Soldering the pipe together with neat little elbows and t-joints. Making sure that each joint was properly soldered so that there would be no leaks. Overcoming daunting scenarios. Replacing the entire system of corroded steel pipe with shinny new copper tubing. I was basking in achievement.
Then I got to the point of soldering the last piece of the puzzle-the brass shower fixture. I found this to be the more complicated piece of the puzzle. The brass was absorbing all the heat and preventing me from melting the solder onto the copper. It was necessary for the solder to seep into the small space between the brass fitting and the copper pipe to assure a leak-free system. I quickly learned how to overcome this obstacle, but then, mysteriously, I spent the next week or so finding other things to occupy my time. I just couldn't seem to motivate myself to complete this last step. I prayed, "Lord, why can't I do this?"
This is when that book I had purchased began to glow in my hand. In it, the authors concluded that they all had one struggle in common. Procrastination. At the end of the book, they pronounced their observation. They mentioned that the root of the issue was a form of perfectionism. They explained that to each of them success was very important. As a result, whenever they had been faced with the possibility of failure, they lost their motivation and were afraid to continue with what they wanted to achieve-they began to procrastinate.
Immediately, I related to this with what I was dealing with in my plumbing project. The faint impression I had in my mind came into sharp focus. It was the picture of me turning the water on and seeing that I had installed an overhead sprinkling system rather than a modern aqueduct.
With this new insight, I resolved to battle through the front-line and finally found joy in finishing the task. And it was also without a single leak. I found my fear to be unfounded.
Once I had accepted the fact that not being perfect was ok, that is when God gave me the victory over my fear. In fact, a lot of times, failure is necessary to the process of our learning how to do something correctly-or learning some other truth in the process, as I had in this case. And it was not until I had learned what God was teaching me through this circumstance, that I could finally experience the joy of a job well done.
And through it all, God showed me a more meaningful way to understand 1 John 4:18, which reads, "Perfect love drives out fear. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love (NASB)." Jesus loves us even though we are not perfect!
Therefore, with confidence, we can set out to do all that God has called us to do, even if everything we do in the process is not perfect, as long as we do it in His love. For His love is perfect!
By the way, if you need someone to write or help you write that article or book you want to publish, Alfred Spengly is a Freelance Writer and Editor who provides those services. Simply go to http://www.alfredspengly.com to get started.
This Article has been viewed 206 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.