A Lesson in Perseverance

When my oldest son was 7 months old and learning to crawl, as well as trying to stand and walk, he would try both on his own and with a little help from anyone available.

Sometimes as he was trying to crawl, he’d be moving backwards instead of forwards. What is one stumble and fall when learning to walk? Did people look at my baby and say, “You’ll never be able to walk because you fell this once”? Of course not! They usually say, “That’s okay,” and pick him up and set him back on his feet again.

Watching him struggle without getting discouraged is always a good reminder of perseverance. The takeaway lesson I get from watching this every day was two-fold. One is that everything takes practice. Most people (including me) don’t get things right the first time they try something new. And the second is to have faith in other people trying new things.

The joy I saw on his face when he made forward progress, both in crawling and walking, more than made up for all the times when he has ‘failed’ and all that is forgotten in the moment when he’s about to reach his goal (the toy he’s interested in or going to a favourite uncle to play with).

As we start the second quarter of 2026, let’s be encouraged that it has been just a first step in our journey of progress. Tomorrow is another day to try again to reach towards our goals and the progress we’re working for. Let’s also encourage others who we see are also making a bigger effort this year.