The noun, rumination, means a deep considered thought about something.

Last Sunday, my wife and I went with our daughter to a golf driving range. Our daughter, Mary, had never hit golf balls before and was curious how she would do trying the sport. We purchased two buckets of practice balls to hit.

We showed our daughter how to hold the golf club, what posture to try to maintain, and similar basic information. Mary did as well as would be expected in hitting a few good balls now and then and not doing as well hitting others.

It began to rain when we were there, and I suggested maybe we might call it a day. Mary had about a basket of balls left to hit and suggested we wait for 15 minutes or so to when the weather forecast indicated it would stop raining. The rain stopped as was forecasted. By the time Mary was done, she was hitting the ball about 125 yards in a reasonably straight manner about 33% of the time, which is pretty good for a beginner.

This reminded me of faith journeys. We need to put in time learning about God and growing closer to Him to grow in faith. We should not get discouraged that doing so takes time and effort. We should not get discouraged when storms or challenges in life seem to distract us from making progress.

Putting in the work and seeking Jesus’ help will pay dividends in our relationship with God over time. The reward in doing this will give us benefits exceeding our wildest hopes and expectations.

Nothing is worth more than that effort.