Some time ago, I began exercising consistently and eating well. I relaxed into healthy habits after roller coaster fad diets and expensive exercise programs.  

The lifestyle I enjoy now was built gradually, developing sustainable habits. I learned to value creating an environment where fitness could grow instead of fixating on end results, like numbers on a scale. End results often turn out differently than one envisions, so I redefined what success could look like in my actual life. 

Finding satisfaction in cultivation means celebrating the achievement of smaller, realistic goals along the way. This produces consistent, positive fitness outcomes. It helps me own my journey.  

I love my growing resilience in learning how to continue after setbacks—a normal part of progress. In the past, hyper fixating on end goals always destroyed progress before it happened. Longing for an ideal so intensely makes setbacks devastating.  

Sustainable habits—whatever I am able and willing to do consistently—create real change. Learning to continue through messiness and thrive in small victories produces success.  

Sometimes as global workers it is easy to fixate on fruit. Hyper-focusing on idealistic ministry outcomes produces burnout, rollercoaster emotions, and unfair judgment of ourselves and others for “failing.” There is unhealthy pride when we feel we have hit the mark. Or worse—wasting time and effort trying to appear to have attained the elusive ideal of ministry success. That is no way to live. Also it is truly sad. It helps no one when the original intention was probably to serve. 

Learning what true progress looks like in a new context takes time. Struggling through learning to connect with culture and people is irreplaceable and invaluable. 

There is no predicting what fruit will look like. Too many things are beyond our control. This is actually wonderful. Far better to learn how to create a healthy environment for oneself in expat life while cultivating cultural relevance over time. Give real fruit a healthy environment to grow. I do not want to misunderstand what is valuable or define fruit as something idealistic and irrelevant in the real world. 

Seeing fruit born lies in the never-ending process of cultivating healthy, sustainable environments in our circumstances. No matter the scale of the work, cultivation, growth, and harvest are ongoing. This aligns with real, unforced life and creates opportunities for seeds to open in healthy soil.