We've all heard the saying that "the fastest route between two points is a straight line." The truth is, that rarely in life do we ever travel a completely straight line when we are on our way somewhere, be it a destination, or a goal. There are many detours along the way, and we frequently feel like we are sliding sideways when we are on the way to a new place in our lives.

The program that I use to produce this newsletter recently released a new version of its 'email editor.' It is 'supposed' to make everything easier. The unfortunate reality is that it is full of bugs! What used to be simple, in the old system, is now completely unpredictable and often produces unexpected and erroneous results.

The old editor had many problems and it was not easy to use. I must admit, that I was excited for the new version. I believed my life would get better instantly. Ha!

The truth is, that things have gotten worse. Much worse! It takes 5 times as long to do my work. Stuff disappears without warning. Things are moved around within my emails unexpectedly. It's WORSE, not BETTER.

And yet, I know we are on our way somewhere. I know that eventually, they will fix all these bugs, and the product improvements will outweigh the pain I went through to get there.

While I wish they had tested this software better before releasing it on all of us users, I see the beauty in the analogy that this provides for life itself.

What the software designer is telling us users, is that we need to 'recreate' all our emails. That might sound easy, but when you have a ton of 'templates' that you've created and use regularly, it is a HUGE requirement. When you create new emails from 'scratch' the editor works better... much better. When you try to copy and update old emails (that were created with the old editor) life becomes a living hell. Hmmmm... didn't Jesus say something about the futility of trying to put new wine into old wine skins?

Although I'm annoyed at this 'change' I think the metaphor is powerful. Stop trying to make your new life fit into your old ways of doing things. It ain't gonna work!

Change is messy. Leaving behind the old, uncomfortable and irritating editor sounded really appealing, and in truth... it is necessary. The old editor had too many limitations and problems. It couldn't do the job. It was time for a change.

The process of getting to a better situation is going to take some time, a little bit of effort and yes, some frustration. There are adjustments to be made, new methods to learn, and some definite kinks to be worked out before the sailing is smooth.

Life calls us to the same process. Instant results are not the norm. Time, patience, continued effort and faith are the qualities that will get us to our destination. No magic bullet exists - for any situation that we face. It's about putting one foot in front of the other!