One Step at a Time

Give us today our daily bread. —Matthew 6:11

Whether you love Tyler Perry or not—whether you think his movies are ridiculous or whether you’ve found some comedic relief from Madea—I have received some major inspiration from his productions, particularly his movie Diary of a Mad Black Woman, starring Shemar Moore and Kimberly Elise.

I watched this movie once during a stretch of depressed weeks (or months). I’m not sure if I was down because of circumstances or if it was one of those blue moments that lasted longer than normal. What I do know is I was alone in my apartment watching the story of Helen (played by Kimberly Elise) and all of the tumultuous trouble  her character seemed to go through. Her husband cheated on her, her husband treated her like trash, and then her husband divorced her. She struggled to find herself and her strength after having clung so tightly to the fairy tale she had built in her mind.

Somehow, through the help of her grandmother Madea and her mother (played by the amazing Cicely Tyson), prayer, and writing in her diary, Helen pieced together her life and mustered up the strength to get a job, support herself, and move on.  The scene that struck me was when she was writing in her diary and she said most days she didn’t want to get out of bed. “Some people say one day at a time—seems too long for me. Most days all I can do is moment to moment.”

I could have shouted right there as if I were in a worship service. (It didn’t hurt that the soundtrack was on point and in the next scene she ran into Shemar Moore’s character again!) But seriously, Helen was right. One day at a time may seem too long while we’re underwater and drowning in our blues. Sometimes we just have to take it moment by moment. Focus on one moment at a time.

Depression can distort your thinking so that you become so overwhelmed with all that seems to be up against you. How will I do this or that? You can do it just like Elise’s character and just like me: one step at a time, moment by moment.

One of my coworkers had a proverb displayed in her office: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” This saying always reminded me that I needed to take things one step at a time. Sometimes those steps look like getting out of bed and doing the bare minimum required. Other days those steps look like seeking help or taking a walk or even organizing a cabinet that has been bothering you for the longest time, or creating a welcoming work space to help you get through your creative dry spells.

Give yourself grace to take it one step at a time. Pray to God for help knowing what that step is and inhale and exhale as you move closer to being able to accomplish that task. Don’t worry about the next; trust me, it will be there. For this day, may God grant you what you need to make it one step at a time.

My Confession

I will take one step at a time.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Progress, Not Perfection

Find a saying, a meditation, to remind you to take it one step at a time.

Heavenly God: I will take things one step at a time today. I will not focus on tomorrow. Show me the next step and help me to appreciate this day. Amen.

–Taken from Navigating the Blues: Where to Turn When Worry, Anxiety, or Depression Steals Your Hope by Katara Washington Patton. Used by permission of Our Daily Bread Publishing®, Grand Rapids MI. All rights reserved. Further distribution is prohibited without written permission from Our Daily Bread Publishing® at permissionsdept@odb.org