Even though she’d requested that her grandfather take the training wheels off her bicycle, my niece was extremely frustrated when she started riding and couldn’t quite get the hang of it yet. She even went as far as to say she wanted the training wheels put back on. To which I replied, that she should keep trying and keep working at it. “Practice makes perfect” I reminded her.
A week or so later, she surprised me with the news that she could ride on her bicycle! (And her mom getting her a new bike was a good incentive too). I told her how proud I was of her that she didn’t give up and kept trying. To which she replied, “Practice keeps perfect, right, Bac Hong?” (Bac Hong is how my niece addresses me – Bac is “Aunt” and Hong is the name that my family calls me.)
Now, as an adult, we’d quickly try to correct a child and say, no, honey it’s “Practice makes perfect.” But you know what? I believe that kid is onto something! By the way, I did correct my niece, to which she responded no, it’s “Practice KEEPS perfect.” Hard-headed…hmmm…wonder where she got that from?
Think about it, practice may make perfect, but if we don’t continue to practice, it won’t “keep” perfect. That’s true for just about anything. In the office, if you don’t use an application often, you don’t easily remember how to use every function. If you don’t work out for a year, after losing weight, you’ll gain the weight back. An athlete may have made it to the pros, but he/she still needs to practice to keep their place. Our hearts are also muscles that we need to work out....to keep perfect. Loving, even though we may be hurt; showing generosity of spirit to another, even though that generosity may not be appreciated or returned – these are ways of keeping our hearts perfect.
So remember, whatever you do, practice keeps perfect!
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