5 Things I've Learned About Mistakes

Making a mistake doesn’t have to define us. Yet, as a counselor, I talk to many people who interpret themselves by their mistakes. Others are quick to hold a spouse, child or co-worker hostage to long ago failures.Some of us wear mistake-colored glasses that determine the clarity with which we see the world around us. God, however, views us through different lenses. We need to put on our God glasses when it comes to failures. Here are 5 things I’ve learned about making a mistake in the Backward Kingdom.1.  God never looks at my mistake as though I am the mistake. He has the amazing ability to separate people from their actions. His love for me never ceases and is not altered by my faults.2.  The stain some mistakes leave on me and others is wiped clean when I seek forgiveness from God and from those involved in my fiascos. The memory of the failure may remain, but the stain is gone from my soul.3.  Mistakes are opportunities for learning and growth. How can I grow if I don’t fail? How will I know where I need adjusting if I am always faultless? Mistakes become trophies when used to grow me into the person God is calling me to be.4.  Mistakes are simply missed—takes, which means the next time I face a similar situation, I can take a different response than the one I chose this time.5.  Every leader has a long track record of mistakes trailing behind him. Apparently it is part of the qualifying process in becoming a leader. Check your Bible for a list of such leaders and join the ranks of those who reign in the Backward Kingdom.Here are some questions to ponder: What have you learned from your mistakes? What have you learned from your successes? How can something be considered a success unless there is the potential for failure in the mix? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

In Him together, Susan Gaddis