Mistakes Happen

Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:14 NKJV)

Mistakes happen.  What counts is what you do with them.  Instead of kicking yourself, learn from them.  Let them be your teachers.

You get frustrated, especially when you make the same mistakes time and time again but mistakes are part of the learning process.  When an artist makes a mistake, it often leads to an unexpected result, a more beautiful piece of art.  When God sees a "mistake."  He understands and forgives. Even more. He transforms the mistake and its consequences into a way to help you grow and develop.  A mistake is a lesson, an opportunity to learn.

Watch a child learn to walk.  The child doesn't fall and then decide they are never going to get up again.  No, something deep inside impels the child to keep trying.  Up again on unsteady legs, ready to try once more.  No matter how many times the child falls, they pick themselve up and goes at it again.  The child doesn't cripple him/herself with an inner dialogue that says they are a failure for falling.  They don't concentrate on the fall, but on the goal of setting up and walking.  Deep down inside, they know they can do it.  The child was born to walk and they know it.  And when they triumphantly takes their first steps, all the falls are forgotten in the glee of accomplishments.

So it is with you.  If you keep making the same mistakes over and over again, it is a signal that you have a lesson to learn.  Perhaps you need to try a different way of doing things.  Perhaps there is some skill that you need to develop or some confidence that you have to build.  Just as an artist doesn't immediately produce a polished masterpiece, so you may have some more things to work through.  Perhaps like the child learning to walk, the falls you take are just part of the natural process of reaching your goal.  We are all people in process.

What about the mistakes and failures that hurt others?  Trust God and His mercy.  Ask His forgiveness and, if appropriate, ask the forgiveness of those who have been hurt by your actions.  He forgives you and will help you deal with the consequences of your mistakes. Learn from your mistakes and move on.  Mistakes are your teachers, if you will allow them to teach you.