What Trusting the Process and Patience Teaches

You can’t rush the process of growth. Trust me, I’ve tried.

The year was 2013. I had just finished playing competitive hockey, recently married, and living in a small apartment in Edmonton, Alberta.

I was working as an electrical apprentice, waking up at 4 a.m., driving 45 to 90 minutes to job sites, pulling wire all day on minimal food (because we couldn’t afford much), then heading straight to the gym after work.

I had one goal in mind: become an elite CrossFit athlete and make it to regionals. I missed the competition and drive that hockey gave me, and I wanted it back.

One week, I decided to push myself. I loaded the barbell with the fancy coloured plates and inched closer to my PR. I pulled the heaviest I’d ever pulled in my life and was ecstatic. My vision of becoming a top athlete felt closer than ever.

But the very next week, I let impatience and ego take over.

I walked into the gym after work, skipped a proper warm-up, and started loading the barbell. I worked my way up to my PR again. And as I went for the pull, I felt a pop in my back.

I crumpled to the floor.

For two weeks, I could barely walk. Spasms shot down my legs, and I vividly remember lying on the floor of our tiny apartment, unable to move, feeling devastated.

That one moment of impatience changed everything.

And you might face-palm when I tell you this next part.

As soon as I started to feel better, I went back to the gym. I didn’t deadlift, but I decided to do some heavy back squats. At the bottom of the squat, I felt my hip pop. I was compensating without realizing it.

To this day, my hip still bothers me.

That moment of impatience set me back six years. My leg began to atrophy. I couldn’t lift a broom off the floor without pain.

God used that pain to teach me patience.

I’ve learned you can’t expedite growth. You can’t rush healing. If I had just taken the time to warm up, to let my body recover, I wouldn’t still be dealing with this hip pain today.

What’s more, that injury led to something beautiful. We implemented a service in our gym to help people overcome chronic pain without surgery. Something that helped me recover and has now helped many others do the same.

So here’s what I’ve learned:

• Be patient in the process.

• Appreciate the journey, even the hard parts.

• Trust God’s timing—it’s always perfect.

  
  

The summit of whatever you’re pursuing is much sweeter when you’ve taken the time to walk the trail, to learn from the ups and downs along the way.

I’m curious. Have you had any lessons like this in your life? Lessons that taught you to slow down and trust the process?