Have you ever watched one of those singing shows where the contestant tells the television camera that this is their last stop and that if they don’t make it they don’t have a clue what they will do?

I’ve often wondered what happens to those people.

Do they go on and try again?  Do they completely jump ship and do something else entirely?  Do they ever get over their failure?

It’s really sad how much of a stigma we’ve put on failing.  We seem to convince ourselves and others that if we fail…we are, in effect, a failure.

Not true.

Failing is a huge part of life.  People fail at marriages, businesses, personal finances, friendships, school, and just about anything else worth doing in life.

However, telling ourselves (or others) that failing is the “end all, be all” is the real travesty.  Failing is just one more stepping stone towards the rest of our lives…NO MATTER WHAT AGE WE ARE WHEN IT OCCURS.

“Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success. I’ve met people who don’t want to try for fear of failing.” – J.K. Rowling

I am well-acquainted with failure.  I have tried many things throughout my lifetime that have turned out to be huge flops.  I’ve invested money in companies that have gone out of business, I’ve tried new career paths only to find out I was no good at that job and I’ve made grandiose goals that have never come to fruition.

However, my worst failures have been those things that I’ve been too scared to try.

Having a father that owned his own business at age 21 and who never worked for anyone else for the rest of his life taught me to fear less the failures in life, but instead to learn from any situation I find myself in.

It’s hard, but it is doable.

Don’t’ get me wrong, there is no doubt that losing a business, going through a divorce or losing a home to foreclosure are REALLY scary stuff, but none of these ‘mighty’ failures are the end of the world.

In fact, our failures might just be the beginning of something even better.

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5

One of my favorite things about being a Christ-follower is that I feel like I’ve got my own personal cheer section in heaven.  I get a standing ovation when I’m hitting the mark and I get one when I’m missing it completely.

Heaven is rooting for each and every one of us!!!

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

Don’t let the failures of life destroy your hope in what God has planned for you.

Six things we can do in the mist of failure include:

1. Hand over the failure to God.
2. Tell God everything about the failure, thoughts, feelings, etc. (the good, bad and ugly – He can handle it).
3. Pull out the Bible and listen for God to speak – do this daily until you hear something.
4. Confide in a friend and ask for support and accountability.
5. Write down the pros and cons of failing, learning opportunities and what you would do if you had a fresh start and couldn’t fail.
6. Live like you have your own personal cheering section in heaven because YOU DO.

Our lives may not look like we planned them to, but make sure they look like God planned them to!!!  That’s where we will find our hope, joy and peace!

Some Wisdom for Today:  Proverbs 28:13 – Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.