Learning to Trust the Process: A Peanut Butter Journey
I was trying to make my own peanut butter yesterday. Everyone said it was easy. I thought, “How hard can it be?” The jar on the right was my first attempt, and let me tell you, it wasn’t what I expected. It wasn’t spreadable. It was edible, sure, but it wasn’t peanut butter. Frustrated and feeling defeated, I walked away from making it. In my mind, I started going through all the reasons I should just give up: “It’s easier to buy it at the store. Why am I even trying? I wasted all this time and effort. What was the point?”
Ever felt that way? When something doesn’t turn out the way you planned, it’s so easy to think about quitting. You start to doubt whether it was even worth trying in the first place.
But this morning, I decided to give it one more shot. I grabbed a smaller amount of peanuts and thought, “Let’s try again.” This time, I told myself not to stress over the outcome. If it didn’t work out, I could always buy some at the store. I changed up my approach, trusting the process instead of stressing over every detail. And guess what? Today, I have edible peanut butter.
This experience reminded me of how we approach life and even the things God asks us to do. Sometimes we try something, and it doesn’t go the way we planned. We start adding our own ideas, or stressing when things don’t look the way we think they should. It’s tempting to just give up. We think, “Why did I even start this? What was I doing?”
But God tells us to trust Him, even when the results don’t look like what we expected. Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV) says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” It’s about letting go of our own expectations and trusting that God’s plan is better, even when we can’t see it in the moment.
Galatians 6:9 (NIV) encourages us, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” That’s the key: don’t give up. We’re going to make mistakes, and things won’t always turn out the way we imagined. But that doesn’t mean we’re failing—it means we’re learning.
So today, I’m telling you not to stress. Keep doing what you’re doing. Trust and know that you’re going to make mistakes, but that’s okay. Learn from them, and don’t give up.
As for that jar of peanut butter on the right, the one that didn’t quite turn out? I’m going to turn it into peanut butter candy. And the jar on the left? I’m about to make the best PB&J ever.
God is always working on us, refining us, and teaching us through the process. Just like that peanut butter, we might not get it right the first time, but with patience and trust, we’ll get there.
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