Failure is an event. Not a person.

        I never enjoyed school. Nobody really does but I disliked it to a whole other level. Although I was smart enough to be in one of the higher level classes I never did well. I got the chance to leave school early and start an apprenticeship. Once again, I never did well. I got great exam results, but didn’t really enjoy the whole experience. When I finished the apprenticeship I moved through life from job to job, friendship to friendship, relationship to relationship never really understanding in what direction I was going or what I was trying to achieve in life.

        When I reached the age of 40 I got the opportunity to return to higher level adult education. I seized this eagerly since I saw it as an opportunity to build on the apprenticeship that I had finished 20 years earlier.

        Also, within a year of that I was put into a position where I had to make a radical life-changing decision. This proved to be as dramatic as it was serious. But it was also a decision that would be offset by the earlier decision to return to college. For it was during this college course that I would learn something simple that I had never known or heard of before. There was a study module attached to the course which referred to “Motivational Management Techniques”. I had never studied philosophy before in any way. And I was introduced to writers such as Maslow, Waldo Emerson and Schrodinger. These names and the lessons of the course module have faded into forgetfulness again but I do remember one common theme that ran through all their theories. It’s this – Failure is not the same as being Wrong. And being Wrong is not the same as Failure.

        When I left my childhood education I was indoctrinated with the idea that if something is wrong, then you’ve failed. And whilst this is true in education with Reading, Writing and Arithmetic the same is not true of the experiences of Life. If a relationship fails it does not mean that you or I are wrong. Conversely if we are wrong about something then it does not mean that you or I had failed.

The lessons on “Motivational Management Techniques” taught me that mistakes are just stepping stones. At the age of 40 I suddenly learned that it was ok to fail at something. This also translated directly into my Christian experience.

        I learned too late in life that mistakes are the lessons that teach us about life. I’ve always regretted my mistakes. But lately I have come to realise that how I handled my mistakes was far more valuable than how I handled my successes. Life events are like a journey across a river. And mistakes are the stepping stones which get us to the other side. Some are slippy. Some are shaky. Some are too small or maybe the wrong shape to get a foothold on. And some are solid. But every single one of them shares one thing in common. Every single one is a step closer to the other side.

 Our Bible teaches us what God has to say to us….

Jeremiah ch 29 v11 - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare                and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Romans ch 8 v28 - And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 

        So. Carry on with living. Carry on praying. Learn a couple of Bible verses, and learn to trust them. God will make a way for us. We may not see it clearly. But we just need to make one step at a time.

Sometimes we win. Sometimes we learn.

Failure may not have been our finest hour, but neither is it our final hour. Keep on going.

 

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