Has your all ever been not enough?

Let me explain.  I remember a day when I dotted all of my i’s and crossed all my t’s and still failed.  It happens to all of us sooner or later.  We plan, we work, we put in the time and still the results aren’t as we expected.

Maybe that’s the way you feel right now.  2019 was going to be your year but it’s nearly over and it’s kind of just fizzling out rather than exploding.  You worked the over-time.  You took the class.  You hit the gym…and yet it seems like something is just out of reach.

It makes me wonder how people in the bible must have felt.  I wonder what John the Baptist felt like at the conclusion of his ministry when he faced death by sword.  I wonder if he thought “What?…after all I’ve done for God?”.

But what if instead of feeling sorry for yourself, you took a different approach?  For example, what if you focused on all of the good things that happened rather than regretting the BIG thing that didn’t happen.

Maybe it wasn’t all about the BIG thing you thought it was.  Maybe it was about you growing and learning something new.

Let me tell you something I’ve learned about God!  In order for him to develop you he has to get you outside of your comfort zone.  Let me say it this way.  True growth is outside of your comfort zone.

Right now you feel like a failure.  But I’ve got news for you.  You were never responsible for the results of your endeavor.  You only had to take the necessary steps and put in the time.  The results were beyond you.  Rather than regretting what didn’t happen, think about how you will act in the future.

In the scope of your work, one day, or month, or year of setbacks really doesn’t make much of a difference.  In fact, if you don’t believe me, just remember that everybody loves a comeback story.

Now here’s another lesson I’ve learned.  It’s powerful!  Ready?

When you don’t get what you want, you always get a case of the mores.  Stop and ponder that idea for a few minutes.

I’ll work more.  I’ll put more time in.  I’ll pray more.  Suffer more.  Give more.  The problem with more is it doesn’t always work.  More money doesn’t always get the job done, when a divorce is on the horizon.  More time can’t buy back the time that was lost when you were planning on spending time with your daughter some other time.  More effort can’t buy back the vigor of youth you spent unwisely.

This post isn’t a sermon.  It’s a confession.  I’ve made all of the mistakes I’ve mentioned above and more.  In fact, I’ll make many more before I’m through.  But here’s the good news.  The good news is it’s still today.  We may have messed up in the past but today we can take a new step in the right direction!

So what’s that look like for you?  We all have 24 golden hours to spend as we like.  I wonder how much good one person could do in 24 hours time.  In fact, imagine all of the changes you could make in the next 24 hours.  You could start a new bank account.  Sign up for a class.  Cut up a credit card.  Take or plan a trip.  Work out.  Paint a room.

However, if we only focus on our setbacks, it’s easy to get discouraged and stop moving forward.  If everything always went smooth.  How could people watch you and learn what to do when things don’t go as planned?  Lets face it, your kids won’t need to know what to do when things go smoothly, but they will need something, an example, memory, or whatever to know what to do when things don’t work out as planned.

What I’m saying is that maybe while you were thinking all this time that you’re a failure, you’re really a success.  That’s not meant to be psychological mumbo jumbo.  I mean it.  Yes, you missed the ring, but in the process you got back up again.

This all came from a day out with my dog.  She’s not just any kind of dog, she’s a bird dog.  Today we hunted…HARD…and came home with nothing.  It would be so simple to chalk it up as a wasted day.  However that’s the farthest thing from the truth.  Today I learned that life is about more than getting everything we want.  It’s about utilizing the amazing resources we have and maximizing our contentment with what we have.

Today wasn’t a failure.  Today was amazing!  We walked through peak fall foliage and lazy streams.  We ate well.  We laughed.  We even made new friends.  And to top it all off a huge Pheasant Rooster posed before he jumped from atop  a stone wall and flew into the sunset!  I don’t know about you, but I’d call that a pretty good day.

So before you throw in the towel because things didn’t go as you planned, take some time and reflect on everything that went right.

Despite your setback, you are stronger and wiser and great things and times are looming on your horizon.

Although your Pheasant flew off into the sunset, remember this.  You remember the ones you missed more than the ones you hit!