It happened on this day in history, in 1825. The Erie Canal opened. But it didn’t come easily. The 363-mile passage from the Hudson River at Albany to Lake Erie at Buffalo was the brainchild of several engineers who began meeting in the 1780s. Eventually talk became action.
Sometimes, progress takes time.
It took over two years to build the Eiffel Tower, which was completed in 1889. The Great Wall of China took 2,000 years to complete. By comparison, Mount Rushmore was a rush job, with the carving taking just 14 years to complete. Noah required 120 years to build a boat, whereas Nehemiah needed just 52 days to build a wall around Jerusalem.
The Bible says, “The end of something is better than its beginning” (Ecclesiastes 7:8).
The only thing worse than slow progress is an unfinished task.
For my entire life as a child, Dad was slowly working on the construction of a massive, extremely impressive remote-controlled airplane. Dad could build anything. His experience as a pilot and electrical whiz informed every step of the work. But sadly, he never completed the task. Dad died suddenly, at the age of 55, his prized work still incomplete.
Starting a task is great. But until you finish that task, you may enjoy the journey, but you’ll have nothing to show for it.
Recovery Step: Complete the work required to live a life of freedom. Don’t stop now.
