The Step Five Problem
What If Step Five Is Where Faith Is Built?
Read It
“Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.”
— Galatians 6:9 (CSB)
Own It
We have a step five problem in our house.
Let’s pretend for a moment that every task in the Wood household takes five steps to complete. You know—start to finish, A to Z, full send. Well, somewhere along the way, my kids declared a silent mutiny on step five. They’ll take a frozen breakfast sandwich out of the freezer. They’ll microwave it. They’ll eat it. They’ll even throw away the wrapper.
But clean up the plate? Why, that’s step five. No thank you.
They’ll come home from school, unlock the front door, remove their shoes, take off their backpacks, unload their folders. But those shoes? Backpack? Papers? Left like breadcrumbs through the living room or in the floor in the foyer.
Step five has become the Bermuda Triangle of responsibility.
We’ll ask them to clean their rooms, and suddenly they turn into attorneys arguing case law.
And if I’m being honest, when I open a closet and find 57 socks, three hoodies, a Jack o’lantern half full of candy and empty wrappers, and a sandwich bag of Goldfish crackers they definitely did not get in their lunch last week, I’m not sure I have much of a legal case myself.
But here’s the thing.
I keep showing up.
Not because I’m a perfectionist.
But because I believe something happens when we aim for completion, even when we don’t always reach it.
One of my favorite quotes is
“In the pursuit of perfection, we find excellence.”
Completion requires consistency.
Consistency requires effort.
And effort often feels exhausting.
But Scripture reminds us that faithfulness isn’t measured by how perfectly we finish every task. It’s measured by whether we keep showing up, especially when we’re tired of pushing toward step five.
One day, the backpacks won’t be in the living room or the hallway.
We won’t be having conversations about the definition of a cleaned room.
They’ll be about college decisions. Moving out. Weddings.
And I’ll wish we were still arguing about step five.
So to the tired parents, the frustrated spouses, the humans doing their best in a house full of chaos, keep pushing for step five. Keep pursuing the standard.
It won’t always be perfect, but it might just be excellent.
And in the process of trying — really trying — maybe we won’t be perfect.
But we’ll be better. Together.
Live It
Keep pursuing the standard, even when it feels repetitive or thankless.
Keep showing up, even when progress feels partial.
Keep pushing toward step five, not because perfection is the goal, but because faithfulness always is.
Go Deeper
Where in your life are you tempted to stop at step four?
What would faithfulness look like if you kept showing up anyway?
How might God be using your consistency to shape something you can’t yet see?
If this hit close to home, I’d love to hear your story.
Loved reading this and laughing as old images came to heart of my own kiddos growing up.
“The toilet is NOT self-cleaning. You need to clean it your self.”
Good news! Once they acclimate to life in their own apartment (dorms are not the same) , they will suddenly recall every lesson you didn’t realize they grasped. Thanks for the giggle.
PS. You opened with GAL 6:9 and it was like a big hug to me. It’s been my life verse for over two decades. 💜✝️💜
"One day, the backpacks won’t be in the living room or the hallway.
We won’t be having conversations about the definition of a cleaned room.
They’ll be about college decisions. Moving out. Weddings."
AND And their kids (your grandkids) skipping step 5! 😂