A Little Bit Each Day

Just a little bit each day.

Just a little bit each day is a saying we use on our house every day. I often use it in relation to house projects. My wife I like to buy homes that are…shall we say…in need of redemption. Houses that have potential. Another way of saying it, is that they “can” be beautiful, but they are currently butt-ugly. This has basically been our only hobby and pastime since we’ve been married. This to say, that there are always a lot of things to work on and projects going.

Some may say that living in a renovation is chaotic and crazy. We just call it dominion.

However, with that being said, you can lose your mind if you’re not careful because it can be very overwhelming at times. If you take any one thing in isolation it’s usually not enough to break you and make you want to curl up in the fetal position and pee on yourself. But taken together, the magnitude of the work seems impossible to complete and can lead you into a state of analysis paralysis.

It is true, you have to keep your eye on the big picture, but that’s not what you are going to accomplish on any given day – if that were the case, your vision would be far to small – in any area of your life. So back to the home stuff. I do a little bit each day. I can’t do everything, but I can still do something, so every day I do a little of the something that I can do. There are days where I just put up one piece of trim just to say I did something. Will a project ever get done moving at that pace? Probably not, but that’s not the point. The point is that you keep moving forward. Even if it’s very slow at times, you’re always moving in the same direction.

As that great theologian, Rocky Balboa said to Creed about winning a fight. You take it,

“One step at a time. One punch at a time. One round at a time.”

Every home we’ve bought has needed more work than the last because we’re gluttons for punishment. At some point, we always have what we will just call a “moment.” You know, one of those moments that forces you to question all of your life decisions. You look around overwhelmed and think, “this is impossible.” And honestly, in that moment, it is. Because you’re trying to do everything all at once always.

If you keep moving forward, steadily plodding through what’s in front of you, on any given

project, eventually you will accomplish much and the impossible seems to have a funny way of being forgotten. Steady plodding is a principle that can be applied to anything in your life. Solomon says it this way regarding wealth generation,

“Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” Proverbs 13:11

This happened with all of my kids. They got to a point where their reading level catapulted them into bigger books. At some point, they said, “I can’t read that, it’s too big.” Then I would ask them, “how do we read a book?” They would usually just stare at me. Then I would answer, “one page at a time.” I would tell them, I don’t want them to sit and read the entire book today. I just want you to read one page. Pretty soon the book is done, and they are on to the next impossible task.

Another way we say this is, “How do you eat a whale?” Answer, “One bite at a time.” Yes, we need to have big dreams and big visions. Yes, we need to pray big and get after it. But on a daily basis, what you need to do is just a little bit each day…keep moving forward, and never stop moving forward.

Of course, this is also a wonderful principle in relation to your walk with Christ. So many of us can get discouraged at how much unlike Jesus we are. I don’t know why that still continues to surprise me after all these years. Yes, Christ likeness is the goal, but I got news for you – you’re not going to accomplish that today! The best that we can hope for is to be faithful with the time that we’ve been given and the time that we’ve been given is today. If you focus on daily faithfulness, or the slow, upward climb in the same direction you’ll end with a faithful life.

Yes, we need to think big, but more often than not that relates to acting small over and over again until you reach your goal or get to your destination. A little bit each day is all it takes. Cheers!