Treasure Your Failures

Last week I played golf for the fifth time in my life. Once when I was a kid with my dad, three more times at different men's events we've had at church through the years, and then last week while we were on vacation together with my brother's family, my parents, and my grandmother at the Alisal Ranch in Solvang.

Wow... I was really, really bad (i.e. I more than doubled par on each hole). I knew I wasn't any good at golf before we went, but I had imagined a different experience. This definitely led to some frustration.

But if we're not failing, we're not growing. Think about Jesus... He let his disciples fail over and over again. He purposefully put them in situations that they weren't ready for.

When I fail:

• It helps me know that I'm really learning and growing. It's part of how I sense that I'm on track with what God wants me to do. If it's too easy or routine, I start to get suspicious that maybe I'm following my plan instead of His.
  
• It increases my courage. In other words, I learn that the pain of failure is not nearly as bad as I imagined that it would be, and that it's far better than the pain of regret that comes with missed opportunities.
• It makes me a better leader. I'm more able to identify with people and encourage them to take risks too.

Here's an excerpt from the email I sent my dad as we reminisced about our golf adventure:

Still recovering from a few blisters. Definitely hoped that I would be a bit better than I was... That said, it was an incredibly beautiful moment to share with you and I’m glad we did it. I’ll treasure that memory.