Have you ever reached that stage of a project or task, or even life itself, when it felt like you were finally making headway?
You’ve slogged through the background work, prep time, and laid out the plans for completion, reaffirmed your vision, goals, and objectives…
And yet, it seems like everything you do to make it to the end is weighted down by unseen tasks, or distractions.
Then, finally. The tide turns. The wind is at your back and you seem to be taking more steps forward than slipping backward from the incoming tide.
You reach the point where it seems you are starting to make headway.
Headway? A nautical term dating back to the 1300’s describing a ship going “ahead-way” as in the sense of “forward motion” as the waters flow against you.
Headway: the concept of moving forward
in spite of all the forces that are
working against your progress.
I could go down my list of projects and tasks and bemoan the lack of advancement, or I could simply celebrate the headway I’m making along particular paths. Even if it’s only in micro steps.
My bride and I have had the opportunity to sail with friends on Galveston Bay back in the late ’80s. Just 8 adults. No kids. No pagers. And only music that everyone agrees to. Bring some food and drink and let’s enjoy sailing back and forth on a 36-foot yacht (??). Fortunately, we never sailed in bad weather but one thing I remember noticing – there were times you were sailing “with” the wind and you felt no breeze at all but you made great forward progress. Then, there were times you were making forward progress against the wind as it hit you in the face and you had to zig and zag to make the wind work in your favor. Regardless. Someone who understands the nautical world can probably make headway even if all the elements are fighting against them. It may take more work, but it’s definitely do-able!
But here’s my thought for today. You seldom recognize your own progress unless you have something to gauge it against. You know. Where did you start? Where are you going? How far down the path to the destination have you moved? Is there a milepost? Mile Marker? Landmark?
Yes. I’ve written about this before from a different perspective.
[The Journey is the Destination]
It’s not just that we should take only a measure of distance, we desperately need to consider the measure of time. Is your progress in meeting your schedule right on the mark? Or, are you behind the curve of some rapidly approaching drop-dead date and you wonder if you’ll make it in time?
Remember your earlier math classes where you had to learn to use mathematical concepts to solve practical problems? You need to drive from Point A to Point B. You know you will drive the speed limit of 60 mph and you have to travel 120 miles. Well, simple math says its 2 hours. However, weather, traffic, emergency stops, coffee, bathroom breaks, and all the other distractions along the way will extend that 2 hours by some minutes into the future!
There are several I know who need to make a pit stop (bathroom) every 45-60 minutes, while I can go for hours without a stop. I’m not into frequent pull-overs! You lose time, your place in traffic, and you have to fight that slow vehicle bogging up the traffic…again. And maybe even again within the next hour! Essentially, you waste more time than the simple 5-minute pullover! I’ve purposed to never ride with them again!
Building something by myself has only me, myself and I to deal with. One writer describes this individual as a soloist, instead of a conductor who gets an orchestra of people, or a community of believers, moving from one stage to the next. Click To TweetRegardless, you often deal with personalities, yours and theirs, more than tasks. In fact, it may be easier to herd a group of cats because we each have our own personality, desires, belief, outlook, and goals.
Then, I wonder how God takes an accounting of our progress. Surely he is never fretful when we miss deadlines or get turned back from our progress. He probably knew we would miss the target! Somehow I suspect he is merely interested in us growing as a person regardless of the goals we miss, and the deadlines we impose.
The Apostle Paul reached the ending days of his life. His last epistle of instructions finds him giving Timothy wise counsel to follow.
I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith.
(2 Timothy 4:7 NKJV)
So. This morning. I’m making headway and counting my blessings for getting things accomplished. The plate is full and there is more to do than I can shake a stick at! Still. The day will come when my last blog is written, my last message taught, my last goodbyes will be given. And I can only hope that I’ve accomplished everything that was given to me to finish. Look! There’s the port!