I was able to cook a meal yesterday for the first time in months and I'm so excited. Woo hoo! I made my favorite dish, spaghetti. I love it so much. My husband Kenya and the kids already know, I enjoy my pasta a little too much. You can read about my spaghetti addiction that I blogged about more than two years ago, here.
Well anyway, I'm so thrilled because, after having surgery performed on my left wrist, the procedure created all kinds of residual issues in my hand, arm, and fingers. Even with intense physical therapy, my joints and muscles were extremely weak and shaky. I could hardly hold anything in my left hand, so I couldn't cook, which is among my favorite things to do.
Imagine losing all your grip strength and having things literally slip right through your fingers.
It was pretty frustrating and hard doing everyday things like: styling my hair, lifting a glass, opening a jar, or tying my shoe. Many days, I walked around looking unkempt, because it was too painful and difficult to groom my hair. Thankfully, now I can sweep my hair up in a loose ponytail with only minor pain.
But, before yesterday, cooking was a different story. That didn't go so well.
One time, with my left hand shaking and all, I was determined to make breakfast. When Kenya and I both sat down, gave thanks for our food and began crunching on our eggs-- they were full of shells--we both knew my hand wasn't steady enough yet. "The eggs would have been really good without the egg shells boo," Kenya said, trying to console me and stifle laughter at the same time. "It's OK. Give yourself time."
We crack up about it now, but I was so disappointed that day. It seemed like I was falling apart instead of getting better. So imagine my jubilation when I was able to finally cook a meal yesterday. Kenya stayed in the kitchen to help me out (I did drop a few things here and there.), but overall, everything went well.
It has taken some time, but every day, I see progress, restoration, and improvement. Instead of focusing on what I dropped during yesterday's cooking process, I'm looking at what I accomplished by the time I was finished.
Sure, I still have challenges in some areas, but I'm making strides daily. And that's the mentality we all must consciously adopt. You see, when God is working on a specific area in our lives, things don't necessarily go from bad to amazing overnight. Rather, we see incremental change and gradual progression, as we take small steps forward.
And we should learn to celebrate those small steps.
Otherwise, we'll make ourselves miserable while walking along a path that cannot be circumvented, no matter how badly we wish we could skip ahead to the next stage.
So today, be happy with where you are on your road to where you're going. More importantly, begin speaking well of your situation. To help you do that, I want to put a "faith confession" in your cup of inspiration this afternoon. It's something my mother Annie told me to do while I was crying and sick post-op. I was so bad off, even the doctors were baffled by my frailty and pain. Mom said, "Dianna, no matter how you feel, I want you to say, it's getting better every day."
And you know what? When I was at my worst and unable to get out of bed without help, I still whispered (with tears rolling down my face at times), it's getting better every day.
As I sit here typing this, I can tell you that I'm finally seeing what I said. For a while, however, even while making that confession of faith, I didn't perceive any manifestations of change. Yet, I continued saying it.
I still say it.
Now I want you to say it.
Come on. It's getting better every day.
No matter what you're facing, declare it right now. Before you know it, you'll be celebrating your own milestone. It might not be a home-cooked spaghetti dinner that causes you to rejoice, but I guarantee, it will be something that makes you say, "Look how far I've come by the grace of God!"
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Dear Lord, You already know my issues. You see my challenges. And You understand my frustrtations. But even in the midst of my storm, I believe You have spoken to me through this word today. Eventhough it's hard, I will say by faith, it's getting better every day! God, with Your help and encouragement, I'll say it until I see it, and confess it until I possess it. Right now, I praise You in advance for what's already done. In Jesus' name, Amen.
As always, thanks for reading, and until next time, may this cup of inspiration uplift, empower, and encourage you.