Mistakes. Turn Your Mess Into a Message

Mistakes. Turn Your Mess Into a Message

 (Read in less than :03)Your best teacher is your last mistake.” Ralph Nader

 

I’m chewing on last weekend’s event like a junk yard dog with a ham bone. It was quite an experience and I keep noodling on how to incorporate what I learned into my daily life. I’ve made lots of mistakes and at times I’ve let them define me. But who hasn’t made mistakes? I picked up this nugget. I’ve been working at all it too hard. I’ve turned into more of a human doing than a human being over the years. And, I have lots of company in my messy little boat. Work, do, try. No wonder we’re all exhausted!

 

Looking back, it’s been a lifelong pattern for me. But my skewed emphasis on do-do-do isn’t exactly unique. It’s hard work to become the best version of who we are created to be! Or is it? Our culture teaches us the path to greatness is through our work and efforts! What a refreshing revelation to hear that in God’s eyes we are already enough!

 

The world teaches we must constantly work at becoming our best self but Scripture teaches that Holy Spirit will guide and direct our every step if we will just allow. When it’s all said and done, will we be like Mary or Martha? Do we do or do we be? “Do-be-do-be-do” is not just a lyric from Frank Sinatra, it’s a battle to stay the course!

 

Mistakes. Messes or messages?

 

“Forget what hurt you but never forget what it taught you.”~Unknown

 

You’ve heard it a thousand times. We learn from our mistakes. It’s true, yet none of us really like learning that way. It’s painful, it’s humbling and sometimes it hurts. Hurts a lot. Sometimes, we make mistakes that can haunt us for years. I’ve witnessed that kind of pain in people. I’ve felt it too. That’s what was so refreshing about last weekend. We can leave our mistakes behind us, we don’t need them to be a forever burden. We were encouraged to embrace the fact that no matter what, our Creator loves us and loves us fiercely!

 

Our mistakes can teach us so much more than just how to avoid repeating them. Mistakes can teach us to accept our human fallibility and help us face fear. We can learn what works and what doesn’t work. Our mistakes and the way we overcome them can become part of our story. Best of all, our mistakes can inspire others to press on. I love this quip about mistakes from a faith-based perspective. “Only God can turn a mess into a message, a test into a testimony, a trial into a triumph, and a victim into a victor!”

 

 

“We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.” ~ Rick Warren

 

Till next time

 

 

If you’d like more information about the event I attended last weekend, reach out to me. It happens again in March. Life is better when you aren’t so hard on yourself and even better when you can share your burdens with a trusted friend. I’d love to visit with you and if you’re looking for a speaker to inspire and encourage your group, please email me at bjstreff@gmail .com. I hope you will always remember just how much you are loved. See you Monday!