Acts 5:14 – Many men and women started having faith in the Lord.

Starting something new is not for the faint of heart.

When I want to begin something, I can easily talk myself out of starting.

Maybe I’ll make a mistake. It won’t be good enough. I don’t have enough time or I’m missing something that will make it easier. I don’t have all the necessary information, so I’ll wait until I do. But then, I never do.

And on and on and on. Procrastinate, procrastinate, procrastinate.

It’s that first step that often gets us hung up. That little itty-bitty step that keeps us from starting.

Years ago, I ran a full marathon. I was younger and trained appropriately for it, unlike my experience last fall of running a half-marathon. If you would look at me, you would not immediately say, “She’s a runner!” I do not have a runner’s body. I’m short. I run like a Clydesdale and not a gazelle. Running all 26.2 miles was a big deal for me.

After I finished the full marathon, someone asked what the hardest part of running a marathon was. My answer: tying my shoes every time I wanted to go for a run. It was that first little step, as simple as tying my shoes, that would determine whether or not I would go for a run any particular day. Tying my shoes was my starting point. This simple act would determine whether or not I would get out the door or onto the treadmill and log the necessary miles to prepare for a larger goal, a marathon.

In a recent conversation, another person and I commiserated how often, we think we have to tackle an entire, big project. Instead, what we really need to do is figure out that first step … the equivalent of tying our shoes. Do this, and we will have started. Once we are started, it is so much easier to keep going.

Faith is no different than starting something else. Faith does not begin when we have a wonderful experience that turns our hearts or minds towards God. No, it starts when someone asks a question. We feel letdown by God and not sure how to process this. Or we are curious about a question that seemingly has no answer. This is where faith begins: with one simple, little itty-bitty step towards discovering who God is for us. It’s finding one little entry point where we begin to explore and discover God. It is usually easy and quick and does not require in-depth study or preparation.

Too often, we make things complicated. We think we want every little bit of faith explained, when maybe we only need one question answered. Or we just need to have a little conversation, i.e. – prayer, with God. Opening ourselves up to begin to experience God in our lives does not require a theological degree or a lot of experience in going to church. Nope, it is simply one little way we choose to look for God today in our lives.

Where have you been putting something off in your life, making it more complicated than it needs to be? What is that one little tiny step that you can do to start?

Do you feel like to want to know God more but have no idea where or how to begin? Can you think of one person you could have a conversation with? Or what might another itty-bitty step you could take to open up your heart to God?

It is so easy to talk ourselves into making something big and hard and difficult. Starting does not have to be. It’s just picking one little step, which in turn is eventually followed by one more step. It’s this simple and this hard.

May we discover next right steps we can take today and this week to help us move towards discovering God the way we would like.

For the realization that starting requires just one small step, I am grateful.

Blessings –

Dianne

Holy God – Why do I overwhelm myself at the beginning of something new rather than picking out just one way that I can start something new? May You inspire me to start something I have been wanting to do because I am able to identify and do that first small step. Amen.

Interested in a few other posts about “starting?” Check these out!

How to Start a Life Worth Living by Lori Shoaf 

https://www.dirttrailjunkies.org/inspiring-stories/how-to-start-a-life-worth-living

Is Life Hard? Then Start Afresh in Jesus by Lisa Granger

https://lisamarcelina.net/is-life-hard-then-start-afresh-in-jesus/

How to Start Making Purchases Directly From the Producer by Jessica Haberman

www.storytellerfarm.com/how-to-start-making-purchases-directly-from-the-producer/ 

Starting Over as an Evacuee by Ashley Olivine

https://www.ashleyolivine.com/starting-over-as-an-evacuee/

If this post touched you, I invite you to share it.