A mountain can only be moved one stone at a time. Don’t lose faith in the small steps towards a big goal.
Why is that such a hard lesson to learn? Or rather, why is that such a hard lesson to apply?
It’s applicable to most every experience in our lives. And yet in every experience, I fail to swallow the inevitable pill that anything worth gaining requires hard work. A lot of hard work. A LOT of hard work.
We live in a society that sells us the idea of instant gratification. And it ties a ribbon of ‘immediacy’ and ‘ease’ around it. The package is appealing. Low cost, high gain. Low work, high reward. As if success and accomplishment simply happen.
And when we realize the journey is actually going to require a great deal of work and energy and effort, we are wired to seek the most efficient solution as quickly as possible. We look for the shortcut, for the loophole, for the technology that will solve our problem with as little personal effort as possible.
And when the immediate results don’t come, and the shortcuts don’t seem to get us there fast enough, and the work is just too hard to do alone…then what? Fear and doubt and frustration creep in…and then what?
I was reminded of this same lesson, once again, this week in Costa Rica. I feel like it’s a lesson I’ve learned and re-learned ten thousand times over, but it never fails to teach me something new. When we arrived at our mission site in Los Carrillos de Poas, I was able to roughly translate as our leader pointed to the crest of a mountain rift that was partially leveled off. He then pointed to a pile of pickaxes, a few shovels, and 2 wheelbarrows. He pointed back at the mountain rift and my gut sunk. It didn’t take a word of translation to know what work was in store. Our job was to literally move the mountain top. One stone at a time.
As we began to work, I caught my mind cycling through the same twisted, conditioned pattern of accomplishment.
Stage 1: Immediate Results
We began the project with such hopeful vision. This should take no time at all. We’re young, strong, able. It doesn’t look like TOO big of a task. So we swung, struck, shoveled. Swung, struck, shoveled. Swung, stuck, shoveled.
Then before long came fatigue. And annoyance. And frustration.
The results weren’t coming along as fast as we had imagined and progress wasn’t being made as fast as we had imagined. The only thing coming along at a decent speed was exhaustion. And it led my mind to rationalization…
Stage 2: The Efficient Shortcut
I began to grow short-tempered because I knew there were SO many more efficient ways of leveling this land than with a few rusty pickaxes and steel-handled shovel. I knew this work could be knocked out in about 15 minutes with a decent sized backhoe and I felt ridiculous chipping away at this task, clot by clot.
I thought of all of the reasons why this wasn’t the mission I had hoped for or planned for. I thought of all the reasons why this particular task was below me. I thought through every possible shortcut, loophole, and technique that may make this task infinitely easier. But eventually, I was drawn back to the same conclusion …
Stage 3: The Worth of Work
WORK. That was the only thing that was going to get the job done. There were no shortcuts. There were no backhoes. And even if there was a piece of machinery that could complete the task quickly, there was no possible way it could be maneuvered up and down the mountain dips to this piece of land. The only possible means of leveling this land was through work. Good, hard, back-breaking work. The question was, how much of myself was I willing to give to get the job done? Was I TRULY willing to work?
I think it’s important we begin to ask ourselves that question at every stage of life. In planning for goals, in carrying out those plans, in adapting and changing as the circumstances around us change. Are we TRULY willing to work? Because that is the ONLY way anything of value is going to be accomplished. When there are no immediate results. When there are no shortcuts available. When the task at hand is going to require every ounce of mental, emotional, and physical energy we have. Are we willing to work?
Not only do we live in a world that sells instant gratification, but we also live in a world that sells the idea that value is only found in the big, bold, and brazen. We live in a world that tells us the bigger and more powerful and more noticeable, the better. We live in a world that puts worth in size, rather than significance. Value is determined by volume, rather than validity. We aren’t encouraged enough in the boldness and bravery it requires to complete the many small things. The many unnoticed pebbles that comprise the mountain.
But every swing of my pickaxe was necessary to move that dirt. And every load of dirt moved was necessary to level that land. And when that land is leveled it will be farmed. And the food that’s grown on that farmed land will be harvested and cooked. And the cooked food will be fed to children in the slums of La Carpio. And the mission serving La Carpio is one mission amongst a team of mission organizations serving Costa Rica. And the mission team serving Costa Rica is one amongst a team of mission organizations serving Central America. And the mission team serving Central America is one amongst a team of mission organizations serving North and South America. And so on.
So while my monotonous labor moving mud on a half-leveled plot of farm land may seem insignificant and small, every scoop of my shovel is playing a part in a VERY grand picture. And I have to be okay with only receiving the battle-wounds and soreness, and never the glory. Because it is not my glory to be had.
There are a lot of circumstances in life that this same principle applies to. Perhaps it’s your marriage or your career path or your athletic ambition. Perhaps it’s your dream that seems so far off and so unobtainable. Maybe it’s your ability to see your own worth or purpose in this world–the simple task of getting out of bed in the morning and believing your life is worth the effort. Whatever your mountain is, remember this: Anything worth gaining requires hard work. We have to be okay with only receiving the battle-wounds, and never the glory. Because it is not our glory to be had.
A mountain can only be moved one stone at a time. Don’t lose faith in the small steps towards a big goal.
