You have likely seen this phrase as a fridge magnet, or postcard, or as a small sign in someone’s home. It would make a good T-shirt slogan. We are all a work in progress. God hasn’t given up on us, and God’s Spirit gracefully nudges us along. There is compassion, forgiveness, grace, wisdom, and gentle encouragement in how the Spirit nudges us along. We may defer to this slogan, not as an act of our will – or a plea for someone to cut us some slack – but as a life lived in the knowledge that God has faith in us – loves us – God’s Spirit is a work in our lives – even to the very corners that may be seen as the least productive. We are called to work the turf God gives us. And let God work the various turf or terrain that is our lives. We might ask ourselves: Where have I shut God out? How can I be more receptive to God’s nudging Spirit? What does God desire to do in and through me that I have not yet discerned? How can I best (or better) follow Jesus, my Lord? We let God be at work in us. And we work our turf for God. Each of us works a different turf. Each of us navigates a different set of circumstances. And our God is interested in the whole terrain of our lives. Douglas Malloch has written a wonderful little poem called, "Be The Best of Whatever You Are." If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill, Be a scrub in the valley - but be The best little scrub by the side of the hill; Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a bush be a bit of the grass, And some highway happier make; If you can't be a muskie then just be a bass - But the liveliest bass in the lake! We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew, There's something for all of us here, There's big work to do, and there's lesser to do, And the task you must do is the near. If you can't be a highway then just be a trail, If you can't be the sun be a star; It isn't by size that you win or you fail - Be the best of whatever you are! As people of faith, we seek to be the best we can for God. It’s about “Progress not perfection.” With you on the journey of faith,  Reverend Jim Cairney