Acknowledging Mistakes
“Everybody makes mistakes. That’s why they put erasers on pencils.”
- Lenny, from The Simpsons
Occasionally, I have a tendency to get a little disheartened when I think about all the mistakes I’ve made in my life. In some cases, I find myself so deeply immersed in those mistakes, I often feel that there’s no turning back. What’s worse is that frankly, I’m not always sure whether many people I know (with the obvious exceptions of my family and a handful of my closest friends) have the kind of love and support for me that will allow them to accept me in the face of the mistakes I’ve made. But I can at least rest on the belief that God is still standing beside me; even when I screw up, be it inadvertently or on purpose.
To date, I haven’t come across anyone who hasn’t messed up before. It stands to reason they will mess up again. We all will. It’s a part of what makes us human. But our humanity doesn’t mean we necessarily have to succumb to our shortcomings. Instead, I think we can become victors of those mishaps. As a starting off point, I think it’s important to embrace our humanity and face our shortcomings head on. It’s when we don’t confront those issues, admit them to ourselves, turn away from them, and learn from them, that we are led down a road of disappointment and indeed down the same path of destruction we so assiduously tried to avoid in the first place. As we watch our once close relationships with our friends and family, our lives, and any bit of humanity disintegrate into nothing, we find ourselves empty, lonely, and devoid of purpose. That can be a fate worst than death.
While I believe it’s easy to point the finger at others when they have done us wrong, I believe it’s much harder to point the finger at ourselves when it comes to identifying our own shortcomings. Hoping to be a better person in that respect, I’m striving to get to the point where I stop hiding behind my failures and my faults and come to grips with how messy I can be at times. I’ve fallen short more than I can count; I’ve missed the mark time in and time out. I’ve hurt people. I’ve lied to people. I’ve betrayed people. I’ve done a poor job of uplifting people. I’ve failed people. In that respect, I hide nothing.
All of that notwithstanding, I don’t want to spend all my days shamelessly holding my head down at the thought of being a bad Christian. Rather, I hold my head up knowing that even when I miss on all cylinders, God has my back. Even when the rest of world is ready to abandon me, thrust their fingers into my chest, or have my head on a platter, He’s standing with me giving me strength and boldness of faith to endure it.
Even when I can’t always see or feel it, I’m never alone.
-ACL
Yeah, dude – you are never alone. We’ve all got your back, even when you’re not aware. One secret is not to wallow – acknowledge, and move on. And, yes – God is good. V.
It takes courage and humility to admit one’s fault especially in such a public forum. I respect that. It is indeed good that God loves us despite it all.
Hey Dre,
I bums me out to read some of these pieces where you are so hard on yourself-it’s why I rarely respond to them. I know you well enough to know that in this world of people that relish their shortcomings and even parade them, you at least try to be a better person. That puts you head and shoulders above them. It’s not the successes that shows the mettle of a person, but rather their efforts in the face of failure. I frequently have the argument with people on whether it’s better to be a person who tries to be good but occassionally fails (some call that hypocracy) or some one who accepts their failings and makes no effort to be better (consistant in their eyes). I feel with all my heart that it’s far better to try and fail than to not try. Your that person and why I respect you-I’ve got your back bro, don’t let it get you down. We’re all a work in progress. The only true failure is to no longer try.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God…” Romans 3:23
Every. Single. One. Of. Us.
I hear you, Dre. In life, we all miss the boat once in a while and have to settle for taking the bus. But the key is to keep moving. Life is a constant learning lesson. Like Cyn said, everyone one of us is going through similar processes in which life often hands us learning curves. It’s how we react to those curves that matter. When we stop trying to be perfect and take on humble attitudes, our maturity expands. And, with this understanding we begin to look at others differently as well. When we realize and accept that our companions are going through similar processes, we will quit trying to hold them up to some level of perfection in our own eyes.