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learning to failPosted on Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 05:55 AMFrom my inbox...
Learning to Fail
by Dr. Ivan Harless
I reccoently saw an interview with University of Georgia All-America shortstop Gordon Beckham.
(He was the 2008 Southeastern Conference Baseball Player of the Year
and is one of three finalists for the National Player of the Year Award.)
He was asked if he could relate one thing that changed him from a good player
his freshman and sophomore years to a great player his junior year.
His answer was that he had learned to fail.
Explanation:
Baseball is a game of failures.
One team always loses. Even the best batters only get hits 3 out of every 10 at bats,
very few pitchers ever pitch a perfect game (no hits and no one gets on base),
no one has ever pitched nothing but strikes,
and all fielders make errors occasionally.
In essence, no one measures up to their own expectations.
Even when they win, there is room for improvement.
The Lesson: By learning to fail, the player learns not to be too hard on himself. You have to learn from your mistakes, put them behind you, and become a better player.
Life Application: God does His best to teach us that we are all failures (Romans 3:23), but He has a plan for our lives (John 3:16,17,18a). When we accept the plan, we will still sometimes strike out, make errors, and never pitch a perfect game... but we will always be able to go on, pick ourselves up, shake the dust off and move forward with Christ.
The next time you step up to the plate and God gives you an opportunity to share His story and His love with someone else, remember, because you have learned to fail, you can call on Him and through HIS strength, you can be strong. (2 Cor. 12:9-10) |
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