06 The Failure
Pete was lying in his backyard in the dirt and was crying. A couple of hours ago, he struck out in a softball game with two kids on base, costing his team a victory. Pete was never the best at softball, but he was never so embarrassed like today. He swung wildly at two pitches, whiffing on both. Not only that, but on the final pitch, he swung the bat so hard that he spun around like a top and fell to the ground as the ball whizzed past him.
Everyone was laughing so hard, that Pete immediately ran home. He jumped the fence to go into his backyard, but he stumbled and fell hard into the backyard into the dirt. Pete has botched some plays before, like trying to steal a base at a bad time, or not being able to catch a grounder, allowing the opposing batter to get on base, but never like this. Pete felt like a total and complete failure. He thought to himself, why does he even bother trying to play softball? He's no good at it. He's messed up so many times, but this was by far the worst ever. Maybe he should quite softball for good.
Suddenly, Pete felt himself get lifted up. It was his older brother Joshua, who just came home from work. Joshua picked up Pete and got him to stand on his own two feet. Joshua grabbed his handkerchief and gently dabbed Pete's eyes dry. He dusted the excess dirt off Pete's softball uniform and smiled.
Pete stared at his brother and wanted to cry out and tell Joshua that he wanted to quit softball, that he's tired of failing so many times. However, something in Joshua's loving eyes made Pete keep silent. Joshua went to the shed and took out a glove, a bat, and a ball. Without a word, he gave Pete the bat and helped Pete practice hitting a softball the rest of the afternoon. Pete decided then and there that he wasn't going to quit softball after all, but work harder than ever before and make his brother Joshua proud of him.
There are times in our spiritual life where we stumble and fail. There may be times we fail so completely, that we may consider giving up the Christian life altogether, because we are so tired of falling and being disappointed in ourselves. We must remember that no matter how many times we stumble, we have Jesus there to pick us up. Like a loving Brother, Jesus will help us overcome and succeed if we put our faith and trust in Him.
- Recommended reading: Philippians: 4:6-13
