It's a Process

I watched a movie called Moneyball recently. It's a baseball movie, a true story about an Oakland Athletics team that was struggling to find wins and were headed for a last-place finish in their division. About halfway through the film, the players begin doubting themselves and the manager (main character, Billy Beane) sits a couple of them down and talks with them.
"This is a process, it's a process, it's a process."

I think sometimes we all need to be reminded of that. In 5th grade I was having a hard time learning cursive, and I became so frustrated that I started crying and yelling. "This is IMPOSSIBLE!"
If I could go back now and talk to my eleven-year old self I would say, "It's not impossible, Jacob. But it is a process. And sometimes when you're in the process you can't see anything except what's directly in front of you. That's why we need to rely on God. Because he sees the whole picture."

I was praying about this post and I quietly felt the Lord start telling me a story, one of his Passion and death, and about the importance in trusting the process.
When I was walking up that hill, your burdens weighing me down, the frustrations of the entire universe heaped on my shoulders, I didn't swear. I didn't blame others. I didn't make excuses. 
I was filled with love for you and for my abusers and pushed forward. I continued through the struggle. 
And as I hung on that cross, blood dripping down my body, dripping into my eyes, I slowed my mind and thought. This is the beginning. The beginning of a long and victorious story. The pain I feel now will be changed into saved souls. It's a process. 

What I've found is that change will never be easy. From the little boy laughing innocently to the traumatized ten-year old, life was a process. From the wide-eyed freshman to the young adult man I have become today, the process held true. As a close friend of mine once said, "God is like a potter, and sometimes we have to be melted down so that He can build us back up and form us into something more beautiful."
With a process, there are no promises; only the belief and courage to know that we will come out the other side stronger.
It's our faith. It's our mission.
And it's not impossible.