I've grown up in the world of Martial Arts. From a very young age I found a deep passion in the practice of Martial Arts. The harder the practice the more it captured my interest. From then till now I've witnessed a continuous transformation in the philosophy of many Martial Arts practitioners and instructors. When I started, it was explained to me that I will be a White Belt level until I was to become a Black Belt level. The way it was explained to me it made perfect sense. I was going to wear my white belt until it became black out of wear, sweat and blood and then I would be a Black Belt. It wasn't about the number of techniques I knew, nor about the flexibility I had, or the power, or the perfect technique. I was going to be a black belt when my belt turned black and no sooner.

Today, I challenge you to find a Martial Art School that does not have at least five different colored belts between the White Belt level and the Black Belt level. You won't! Actually, you might be even hard pressed to find one that has only five different color levels. I also challenge you to find a Martial Arts school that has more than two months between the testing events for the different belts. It will be difficult, for we've gotten to the point where not only can't we wait and be motivated to pursue an art for the length of time it would take to allow a white belt to become black but we can't even wait for more than two months wearing the same color belt. For instructors our impatience has become a cash cow and for practitioners a WATERED DOWN art.

Enter life! In spite of the microwave and other technologies that speed things up for us, most of the things still happen at the same pace. The earth takes the same time to spin, the baby still takes its sweet nine months to make an entrance, etc. The natural things in life develop at the same pace as always. The plants in my garden grow at the pace dictated by their Creator within the parameters of their nutritional supply. I water them more, they grow stronger and taller or fuller but they take just as long to fully mature. And we completely get this.

How about prayer and faith? Is there a fast track? What makes a faith well-watered and would a well-watered faith mean a faith on the speed track? Engage in the discussion please...