Thursday is an interesting day. It’s far enough into the week for you to be honest with yourself, but not far enough to pretend you’ve already succeeded at everything you planned on Monday.
So today, I’ve been thinking about all the things in life I was absolutely certain I could do… right up until the moment I actually tried them.
Like the time I decided I could jump high enough to block a shot from a guy who was basically a telephone pole with sneakers. I didn’t block the shot. I didn’t even block the air around the shot. I just jumped, landed, and wondered why gravity had such a personal vendetta against me.
Or the time I thought I could run fast enough to keep up with the taller kids. Turns out their legs were doing in three steps what mine needed seven to accomplish. I wasn’t running so much as “enthusiastically moving forward.”
But here’s the thing: I tried. And trying, even when it ends in failure, teaches you something valuable.
It teaches you humility. It teaches you perspective. It teaches you that confidence is wonderful, but reality has a sense of humor.
And it teaches you that God isn’t disappointed when your abilities don’t match your enthusiasm.
In fact, I think He enjoys watching us try. Not because He expects perfection, but because He knows effort shapes character.
Some of the things I tried and failed at became the stories I laugh about now. Some became lessons I needed. Some became reminders that I’m human. And some became proof that God can use even my most comical attempts to grow me.
So on this Thursday, here’s my encouragement: Don’t be afraid of the things you tried and couldn’t do. They’re not wasted. They’re not embarrassing. They’re not failures in the way the world defines failure.
They’re part of the story God is writing, the honest, funny, human parts that make the rest of the story richer.
And besides… if everything we tried worked out perfectly, we’d have far fewer good stories to tell.
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