Impact

I do not always understand the full impact of a different technique, tool, or product.  I hear the words.  I see the process from start to finish.  I even lend a hand in the steps.  Yet, somehow, someway, I miss the link between the essence and the reality.  It does not matter if it is a new finish, a different way of approaching a project, or how to use a tool (new, old).  Until I can digest the experience, I do not understand the impact.
 
The project at hand is a simple box.  In many ways, I know nobody cares about the level of detail I am investing in it.  Yet for reasons I do not understand, it matters.  I care if I am using the tools I have at my disposal.  I am not satisfied with my efforts, given I know the potential that exists.  I see the potential of what could be.  It is as if this simple project has become a metaphor for something far greater.  I found myself grabbling with the reality as I hold myself to the standards set by those I admire.  I am frustrated, mostly with myself.  I am inspired, because I can remember what could be.  I find myself filled with hope.  I can see the impact in my life and in how I do things.
 
I am not the first to walk this road of discovery.  “Wild animals will say ‘Thank you!’—the coyotes and the buzzards—because I [God] provided water in the desert, rivers through the sun-baked earth, drinking water for the people I chose, the people I made especially for myself, a people custom-made to praise me.”  (Isaiah 43.20, 21)  Yet I wonder if I know the fullness of my design.
 
Today is a new project, in your life and mine.  We may never come close to our potential, yet the steps we take matter.  We may fall short, yet it is our intent that becomes the measure of our soul.  We will touch those around us.  I pray I bring and give hope.