Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Wednesday October 28, 2009

My friend Dr. John Russell was talking to a man about me which was not all that unusual twenty years ago, and as the man he was talking with let the conversation get a little negative John said, "You're right, but some people just live, Larry lives and learns."

The report of that conversation encouraged me because it let me know a friend had stood up for me and that he also knew I had learned more than few bitter lessons.

In life it is important to know that in many situations all you can do is learn from them. In times of failure you tend to do one of two things: Go on without giving thought to the mistakes or even willful sin or give so much thought to them that you are overwhelmed and rendered unable to move on.

I read a statement by Dale Carnegie that gives more than the average advice on such matters. His four last words in the statement separate it from run of the mill noise to a tremendous aid in overcoming the fallout from mistakes and going on to a more fruitful life. Most people will state, "The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again." I know of no one who will argue with the statement. But therein lies the problem which Carnegie solves with his four almost magic words. Here is Dale's line:

"The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way."

"In a different way" may make all the difference in your life. Of course there is no guarantee else Edison would not have had to try 10,000 experiments on his light bulb which after all these years is still better than the one our government forced on us in their 65 watt nightmare. Me thinks their brain power operates on the same level as 65 watts and therefore is not so bright.

Robert Bruce, the first king of Scotland lost a battle and hid in a cave. While waiting, he watched a spider building a web in the cave's entrance. The spider fell down time after time, but finally he succeeded with his web. So Bruce decided also to retry his fight and told his men: "If at first you don't succeed, try try and try again." Some say the story of King Bruce is mere legend, but one thing is for sure; if you don't try again all is lost.

The Lord says in 1 John 1:9;

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

This cleansing is preparation for the next try. In a different way.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2009 Use with credit

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