I began thinking about this yesterday as I was driving to meet a friend. I know numerous people who are going through some tough times in their lives and they are going to have to start over...like I did two years ago. In talking with them and their comments about "Now I have to start over" I thought---why is that a bad thing?
We look at starting over as such a negative thing. My students can't stand not getting it "right" the first time so most of the time they won't even try. Projects, businesses, relationships all have this pressure to work perfectly the first time. Yet, how many times do people say "If I had the chance to do it all over again..."? Where would we be if people like Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, Michael Jordan, and the hundreds of others that have changed the world for us had never started over? (And they had to start over hundreds of times!)
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
The Earth starts over every year at this time. We look at spring as a new beginning, a fresh start after a bleak winter. Maybe we should start looking at failures the same way. Sure, we have to go through the depression, the hurt, and worse, the uncertainty of what the future holds. But instead of saying "I HAVE to start over" lets say "I GET to start over." Lets count ourselves lucky and embrace it as something that sometimes others don't get--a second chance. I know I'm going to try hard to think this way.
Enjoy your spring. For in life, it doesn't always come more than once.
