Welcome to the Club

You may have heard the saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, welcome to the club.”

In a Peanuts comic strip, Charlie Brown is complaining that his baseball team always loses. Lucy tries to console him by saying, “Remember, Charlie Brown, you learn more from your defeats than you do from your victories.” Charlie Brown replies, “That makes me the smartest man in the world.”

Most of us know what it is like to deal with failure. We have all been there at one time or another. We’re human, flesh and blood and we make mistakes. And Lucy is right, there is much to learn.

But the truth is, sometimes we won’t learn. Sometimes we look for others to blame. Sometimes we’re tempted to fall into despair or anger. Sometimes we don’t want to even acknowledge we’ve made a mistake. When we give in to these temptations, we learn nothing.

Gary Apple seems to have the ability to use humor to lessen the negative impact of a situation. He once said, “My goal was to retire when I reached 40. I’ve been partly successful – I reached 40.”

That’s a great start. When we are able to laugh at ourselves and admit defeat, we are one step closer to moving beyond it. And then, if we can allow ourselves to look honestly at the situation, chances are there will be much to learn.

I pray today for you and I, that we would trust that God will meet us – even in the midst of our failures. Amid the brokenness of his life, God spoke to the Apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness.”

(2 Corinthians12:1-10)

Let us pray: Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.