“I Seem To Keep Failing”

Originally Posted July 8, 2020

When the sun is shining and everything you touch turns to gold…. boy life can seem really good. Everyone likes and admires you. You’re a genius Dave…. hey Dave, do you have time to get a cup of coffee…let me pick your brain. You’re truly a genius. (Just to put your mind at ease, I haven’t had many “turn to gold stories”.)

Regardless of my story, what about when it’s the opposite. What about when it always seems to be a rainy and dreary day and things are not turning to gold, but turning to that “other stuff”(this is a family BLOG).  Failing or seeming to fail can be a very, very hard thing to endure. It’s great to read about the famous people who endured many failures before becoming a great success…but what about the ones who never  stopped failing. You don’t seem to read much about them., who determines success? Is it the New York Times, Hollywood, Wall St., Corporate America, the Politicians ??? 

If I invented the next greatest technology, threw the latest Super Bowl winning touchdown, starred in the latest hit movie….am I a success ? If I didn’t do that and no one knows who I am, am I a failure? Gee, I don’t think so.

Well ultimately one person will decide if I’m a success and that is God. If I hear “well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master “. (Mt. 25:23), then I am a success, a success. There’s only one criteria for success, am I going to heaven.  There’s only one person I need to impress and that’s the Lord. As Mother Teresa used to say, “God calls me to be faithful, not successful”. So, in the eyes of the world, I may be a dismal failure… no Harvard degree, no big job, no money…. but none of that will matter at the moment our Lord calls us home. 

So, while the rich and poor can attain heaven, it’s not the riches that are the determining factor. “Happy the man whose offense is forgiven, whose sin is remitted. O happy the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no guile.” (Psalm 32:1-7)  Success is available to all of us. Let us turn to the Lord and assure our success when we see him face to face. This is really good news.