One Step at a Time

After Corinne lost her brother, a friend gave her a copy of Melody Beattie's "Journey to the Heart". The book was a gift to remind Corinne to keep positive and inspire her to keep going. It contains daily passages written by Beattie on her own path toward spiritual growth and renewal. I remember C would bring this book to work in her little canvas tote bag and share some of the daily passages with me. We would find the truth in them and how they applied to our lives, and somehow the day would be a little bit better.

"Did you read the book?" "Did you see the reading for today?" 

That's how the days passed at work. I would sneak into her office and snag this book out of her bag. Then, I would go back behind my desk, read the passage, write down my favorite lines, and hold the book hostage for as long as I could. Corinne's copy was a hand me down; there was something about how it was broken in that made the words seem that much more wise. Luckily, I saw Corinne almost every day of the week at work, making it easy for me to keep up with the daily passages. Eventually, it was time for me to get my own copy. I wanted to be able to reflect on the passages longer than my stealing of C's book would allow.

It's been over a year now. Corinne and I will still send pictures to each other of the reading, just in case one of us missed it. We'll call each other and bring up the day's thought or even mention it when we see each other in person. Some days, I don't pick up the book. But, when I do get around to reading it, the words seem to resonate that much more.

It's probably been a few weeks since I opened the book. Today, I woke up feeling overwhelmed and the mounting stress of this week just really knocked me down. I was rushing around the house trying to get everything squared away before I left for school when I found the book tucked in my school bag. I stopped everything I was doing, took a deep breath, and opened the book.

One Step at a Time. The best reminder. And so needed today. Although my schedule was still hectic and everything was seemingly going wrong, I chanted to myself "one step at a time...one step at a time." Such a simple reminder that I have heard hundreds of times, but so refreshing to hear it just when I needed it.

Melody Beattie's "Journey to the Heart"//March 4 passage, pg. 66

"One step at a time. That's all you can take. That's all you have to take."