Failure is not Final

Get Back Up

I loved this message at my church so much that I am sharing it with you.  You can click on the Get Back Up above and watch it online.  One of the stirring quotes in the video is "failure is not final."  I so need that as I am struggling with trying to start a Bible study in my home.

I am doing this through my church, so my group is listed on their website, and I posted notices in all the buildings of my complex.  At first, I had 5 interested.  Now it is down to 2, and only one has shown up.  Although I did meet another elsewhere in a neutral place to assure her.  The 3 that changed their minds said they might join in the fall.  

It is hard not to feel like a failure here.  I also am struggling at work as we are using a new curriculum that I am not familiar with, so that can be nerve-wracking for me too.  I always seem to feel nervous before work, Bible study, volunteering, and even my art class, to the point of not wanting to go.  But I force myself and it usually turns out well.  Even so, when I fail, it consumes me like a fire, and it is hard to let it go.  I am a lot harder on myself than I am on others.  Why is that?  Why do I expect perfection from myself but not others?  

So I have to remember Peter, what this message is about.  About how even though he failed, Jesus forgave him, and restored him so much that he became the first leader of the Christian church.  So I have to remember that even though I fail, it is not final, and I have to forgive myself and get back up again.