The Tortoise Method

Illustration by Arthur Rackham





Then one day, the irate tortoise answered back:  "Who do you think you are?  There's no denying you're swift, but even you can be beaten!"...

...But the hare's last leap was just too late, for the tortoise had beaten him to the winning post.  Poor hare!  Tired and in disgrace, he slumped down beside the tortoise who was silently smiling at him.

"Slowly does it every time!" he said.

- Excerpt from Aesop's Fable of The Tortoise and the Hare


Seeing as it has been over a year since I last posted my 11 resolutions...in what was only my second blog post ever...it may seem...to whoever read it and (the few who went as far as to become one of my followers)...that I either forgot about my lofty resolutions, gave up on blogging and/or failed to achieve my goals. In a sense, you would be right. I did fail to some degree and keeping up with this blog is an obvious example of that. To those that followed me and care...thank you. Please accept my apology for my lack of follow-through. I am most likely not going to be as regular and as great a blogger as I had hoped.  


If you felt let down in any way, you would not be the only one. To the greater degree, I let down myself. It is not that I forgot about this blog or any of my 11 resolutions I set. To the contrary, it is because I remembered them and did not feel that I achieved and/or succeeded in following through with them like I wanted, that I did not post any other blogs since! How could I go on writing when so much time had lapsed and I had nothing new to really report on that I considered to be an accomplishment.


Truth be told, God took me through an extremely tough and seemingly unending season of my life. I felt as though I was falling into a black hole that had no bottom and no way out. My thoughts began to grow increasingly dark and I found myself crying myself to sleep on a fairly regular basis, as I complained and pleaded with my then seemingly distant God. I don't share this for any kind of sympathy and don't even see a need to go into all the details of my circumstances that led to this. They were complex and it wasn't just one thing. A series of incidents occurred that were beyond my control and all I could do was wait, pray, lean into God and scripture, and continue to persevere.


As I drove home today, and began to self-reflect upon my life, my goals, and yes, this blog...I felt God somehow whisper to me that I am the Tortoise in Aesop's fable. The going may be painfully slow and seemingly insignificant, and yet, I have stayed my course and progress has been (and is still) being made. The black hole was not unending after all and the way out (is) and was to not give up on myself or on God, ever. Plain and simple.


Now that I am starting to see the light at the end of the dark tunnel and reaching a new plateau of hope and joy, I can sense God's presence in my life once again. The road may still not be easy and the finish line is still very far off, yet the key to my success has been revealed. The tortoise knew it all along. The wisdom in this fable is timeless. The more I think about it, the more funny and enthralling it is to me that God would bring this to my mind.


You see, I have pretty much always been the slow one. In fact, my Grandma's nickname for me used to be Molasses, because as she so often said to me: "you are as slow as Molasses"! To give her credit, she is more like the Hare. She has always had this exuberant energy and effervescent personality that reflects an energizer bunny. I think she has trouble relating to anyone who is not like that. Somehow, I did not inherit that gene. I am slow. I eat slow, I process things slow, I even move slow.


When I was in school, I almost always found myself to be the very last one to turn in a test or paper at the end of the class. It hardly ever failed. Yet, as I am learning, slow does not equal less than. My report cards and grades proved that.


All this to say, that although I may still not know Final Cut pro, be in great shape, and be active in theatre or film productions, I have made slow but steady progress. Life may not be on the time table that I want it or even on the time table that others may think I should be on, but I now know that I am on my way and I will not stop moving forward.


So if any of you are like me, please do not lose heart. Most importantly, do NOT EVER give up on yourself and what God can do in and through your life.


Just follow the Tortoise with me and when we finally reach our dreams, we can silently smile and say, yes..."Slowly does it every time."


:)