Next month, I will be attending two graduations. The two graduations that I will be attending are for my two sons. My son Malachi is graduating from college, and my son Caleb is graduating from high school. As both events inch closer, I am feeling a tide of different emotions and wrestling with a flurry of different thoughts, chief among which include pride for their accomplishments; regret over my some of my decisions; disbelief at how quickly time passes, and angst about the choices they will make to shape their future. But lately, my thoughts have turned to the impending drama of the graduation day itself.

By “the impending drama of the day,” I mean the pomp and circumstance of it all. Airline, hotel and lunch reservations are being or have been made. Pictures have been taken, class rings and graduation gowns have been ordered, and commencement speakers have been selected. Families and friends will go to the mall to find an appropriate outfit and to the drugstore to search for an appropriate congratulatory card. Graduates are deciding who gets an invitation, and parents are happy that they will no longer get at least one bill (tuition). When graduations roll around, so much time, energy, and attention is focused on the day.

But the the truth is that whenever we celebrate a graduation, we are not only celebrating a day. We are celebrating the culmination of a process. The two graduations that I will celebrate on those two days are both the culminating of a four year process. And what has occurred to me is that is so easy to focus on the events that will transpire on those two days, and fail to appreciate the process that led to them.

We love events: graduations, weddings, concerts, promotions and the like. But most of us don’t love the process that is required to experience those events. I once heard Serena Williams, who many believe is the greatest tennis player of time, say in an interview that she loved playing tennis, especially the biggest games at the major tournaments, but that she hated practicing. Serena said that she hated practicing because “no one shows up to watch practice!” Everyone shows up to celebrate the event. But no one shows up when you are going through the process of preparing and becoming. Many of us are so focused on an event that we have failed to invest in a process.

When you compare a process to an event, vast differences emerge:

A process encourages development. An event encourages decisions.

A process matures you. An event motivates you.

A process is a consistency issue. An event is a calendar issue.

A process changes you. An event challenges you.

A process creates a culture. An event creates a catalyst.

A process is difficult. An event is easy.

We all love events. But in order to be successful, we must fall in love with the process. Author James Clear has written that the best way to enjoy success, fulfillment and happiness is to fall in love with the process. When you fall in love with the process, you don’t have to wait to be happy, and you release yourself from the tyranny of the clock. When you fall in love with the process, you don’t have to keep looking at the scoreboard. The score will take care of itself.

There is a powerful confirmation of this truth in Luke 17: 11-19 where we are given a front row seat to witness one of the miracles of Jesus. This is what happened:

As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

This miracle conveys a plethora of insights. But the insight most relevant to our discussion is the methodology that Jesus employed to effectuate their healing. In many of his miracles, Jesus would perform a single action and a miracle would occur. The miracle would occur instantaneously. However in this instance, the miracle occurred gradually. The scripture says “as they went, they were cleansed.” Their healing was a process, not an event. In fact, the implication of the text is that at least one of the lepers was healed and didn’t even realize it. Not only did the miracle occur gradually; the recognition of the miracle was gradual as well. They were so focused on the process of being healed, they didn’t have time to check the status of the healing.

Checking the scales will never help you lose weight. At some point, you have to eat better and start exercising.

Question: are you waiting for an event, or are you committed to a process?