It has been a powerful season of learning and searching the heart in light of failure's presence in our lives. Our time focused on failure will change us, because acknowledging and owning it is half the battle. But sometimes it doesn't seem to work that way.
When I was an under-ripe, awkward third grader, I remember our PE teacher giving us a lesson before our activity time. He was fresh out of college and clearly ready to coach us to our first Olympic trials. I'll never forget what he told us that day. It went like this: "You need to quit practicing. Practicing is for quitters. If you just practice, you'll never actually get better. From now on, the only thing you should do when you're getting ready to do something is perfect practice! If you don't practice something perfectly, how can you EVER expect it to be perfect!?"
That was in third grade.
Later, this same PE teacher was moved up to a more appropriate grade level (middle school), and was given the position of assistant coach to the football team, which I was on. I think I heard that same lesson another twenty or so times. Because I'm an optimist, I let some of it sink in. In some ways, he's right. If we practice life as though we're going to fail, chances are, we will never move beyond the point of failed attempts.
But that was all I took from it. It is good to be intentional, to live life with positive hopes of success, and to believe that we can overcome obstacles, especially when our faith is fully alive within us. The rest of the lesson, however, I disagree with. Our sermon series is ALL ABOUT failing and how we can learn to incorporate Jesus into the greatest depths and pain of our failures in a way that frees us and allows us to grow, regardless of our inadequacies. How can we learn this and let it become a powerful truth and experience in our life if we never allow ourselves to fail and come to witness Jesus' redemption?
The reason why I ask this question is because in a conversation Sarah, my wife, and I were having last night about some upcoming events, I realized that both of us are absolutely terrified of failing. We get what it means to fail in our minds, but we don't live like we're ready to fail and consequently grow in Christ. We live as though we finally got to a good place and are going to do anything possible not to make any mistakes ever again! I sense this about myself far more than I do with my wife, but to some degree it is true for both of us.
What I have learned from this realization though is that it's time to get messy. So far in most things in my life, I've been playing it safe and playing hard to keep things on the exact right track--no deviations. But the hard part is that I've already committed never to teach something on Sunday mornings that I won't agree to listen to myself. At this point in our series, I'm not sure I've done a great job at that. I'm still trying to keep on the safe side of failing. I guess I've ultimately failed at failing more. Apparently I took Coach H's advice far too near to my heart and forgot that failing during practice can teach us a ton about how it can be better in the future.
So, sorry Coach H, but I think I need to fail this one out. But I'll see you on the field anyhow! Here's to failing. And here's to practicing in ways that allow us one day to QUIT making the same mistakes and move on into Christ's Joy!
More to come!
Jason <><
I had a coach tell me in High School, "Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes permanent." If you practice the same thing over and over, it's how you will perform it. So if you half-@#! it in practice, you will do the same thing at the game. But if you build good disciplines and give your best effort in practice, then you will do the same in the game. Good advice, but the good news is, with Christ, no matter how many games we lose, it doesn't change the score.
ReplyDeleteCan't remember where I heard it, but "practice makes progress." Let's face it, although I like to tell my kids I'm practically perfect in every way (thnx Mary Poppins), I'll never be perfect. I can keep trying to do better, knowing that stumbling and even failure are part of the process. Learning from those mistakes and moving forward is the progress, particularly when we open ourselves to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
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