Son, I love you so much that I never want you to fail.

But the reality is you will. At some point in life, you will fail.

Fall.

Face first into the mud.

SPLAT!

It will hurt.

It will be embarrassing.

It won’t be fun.

And, you know what? You’ll do it again. And again.

And again.

Sometimes life is like Charlie Brown playing football with Lucy. You’re running for that ball, giving it all you when -WHOOSH! – she jerks that ball right up off the ground while you’re in mid-kick.

SPLAT!

That’s the sound of your bottom – and your ego – hitting the grass.

Failure is not a bad thing. It’s how we learn. There’s a reason God created birds to kick their chicks out of the nest at a certain point in their maturity. If they spend their lives lying around waiting for mama bird to spit chewed up worms in their mouths, they will never thrive.

Don’t view failure as an end. It isn’t. It’s a step forward. It’s a chance to learn and grow. When you fail, seek God. Ask for His wisdom. Ask Him to pick you up, dust you off and right your path.

Failure is only failure when you fail to grow from it. So seek God first. Be humble in how you deal with your failure. And smile. You’re a step closer!