When failures come

FAILURES do happen in our lives. They can happen everyday,

and many times during the day. They may not be big failures. They are

usually small ones. But they are somehow like a constant feature of

our life. We should not anymore be surprised by this fact of life, and

much less, held captive by them.

  

            We should know how to handle them. Not only that, we

should know how we can derive some good from them. That’s because our

failures can actually channel great things for us. They can be a

blessing in disguise.

  

            In this life, we are supposed to be clever as serpents

while remaining simple as doves. (cfr. Mt 10,16) That’s the advice

Christ gave his disciples in dealing with the drama of life. And this

advice can be more concretely specified by developing in us that skill

of knowing how to let go and to move on when we suffer failures.

  

            We should not forget that there are many other more

pleasant possibilities than getting stuck with our failures. As one

saint would put, when one door closes, then open another one. In life,

there are actually many doors that we can open.

  

            If we have the proper attitude, if we are with God, we

would know that our life possesses an infinity of possibilities. The

spiritual and supernatural character of life makes that possible,

since it transcends the limitations of the material and natural

dimensions of our life.

  

            We always have to remember that God is always on top of

things. Nothing happens outside of his providence no matter how messy

things can get in our life. There’s a time for everything, we are

told. (cfr. Ecclesiastes 3,1-8) This should always be in our mind so

that we do not overreact when failures come.

  

            What we ought to do is to go immediately to God and to

refer things to him. He will be the one to reassure us that everything

will just be fine. Nothing happens without him knowing and allowing it

to happen. And if he allows it to happen, it is because there is a

greater good that can be derived from it. In God’s math, the gains far

outweigh the losses.

   

            Of course, what this greater good is can escape our

understanding, given our limitations. And that’s why we have to

activate our faith. Otherwise, we would confine ourselves to our own

limited understanding of things that can make us suffer unnecessarily.

Of course, there will always be suffering involved, but we sometimes

suffer beyond what is necessary because of our lack of faith.

  

            We have to realize that there are many things we do not

know. And the things that we know usually are those that favor our own

subjective view of things. We cannot have a completely objective view

of everything. Only God the creator has that. We should just trust

him, just as we usually trust our elders even in things that we do not

quite understand. That’s what faith is all about.

   

            So let’s see to it that we are not unnecessarily detained

or distracted by our failures. We have to learn how to let go and move

on. Better still, we have to assume that more supernatural attitude of

letting go and of letting God resolve the issues that still grip us.

  

            If we have done our part and still face a blank wall, then

let God do things for us. We know that we cannot and are not expected

to solve everything in our life. Our death, for example, is something

we can never avoid and undo. But God takes care of it.

  

            It would be good if everyday, as we suffer the usual

failures, we would immediately let go and move on. If one door closes,

let’s open another one. We may have better luck there. And with it, we

can make up for our failures somehow.