Failure rebound

Have you ever found yourself in life at the bottom looking back up at what was once your life?
You look upon the environment that your hopes, desires and skills under God’s allowances and providence afforded.
What you see however is not the attainment of a goal but a failure to meet the expectations held towards you, by yourself, by others, or even by your perception of what God wants from and for your life.
A business deal didn’t work out; the relationship with your girl or boyfriend crashed and burned; you didn’t get the job for which you applied; you made a promise to God or a fellow human being but failed to deliver; you were overcoming an addiction yet backslid for the first or umpteenth time.
When you look in the mirror, someone else that you do not like is staring back.
Are you a failure?
We all see ourselves in this way at various points in our life. It can be temporary or extend well beyond its usefulness. You might say “usefulness,” how can failure be useful?
Sometimes, we have built a team of support, our family, friends or mentors to uplift us in those downtimes. Knowing those people are there is a reminder of the strengths we build upon, they are there from love or because in your good times, you invested in their lives.
Sometimes, we can learn from our falls – in business we can review why the deal didn’t work and next time make it better; next time we can give a better interview; we can be more mindful of the promises we make and learn what is actually within our power to fulfill; we can also make amends to those we have wronged; we can seek a closer relationship with God through the reading of His Word, attending Bible studies, and prayer; we can cast off whatever afflicts our mind, body, or Spirit, pray for God’s guidance and support and take our journey one hour, one day at a time striving to live a better life.
The most successful people that we see in life can likely spend many hours talking about the failures they endured before they walked boldly into success. No matter the arena that I walk into, I know the potential is there that I might not attain my aim. It’s the process of aiming and coming ever closer to the target, that makes up the small stories in life that push us forward. Am I a failure, yes, I am one, I was one and I will be one. Does it matter what I failed at today. No, because my failures are not what make up who and what I am in the eyes of God, my loved ones and myself. Those downfalls are simply the rickety steps that I must take to reach the greatest moments of my life when all those low points are simply a memory.
Go out and create greatness, it’s within your grasps. Failure is simply a tool that you release from your hands once you know how to use it.