This is the place where I was last week. Really cool buildings aren't they? While the architecture is amazing, what makes this place really amazing are these.
There were over 50 nations around the world represented. It is a wonderfully blessed experience to worship, conduct business, and renew old friendships while making new ones from around the globe!
Hubby and I also spent some time networking with church leadership trying to get our congregation's building project off the ground. This project is close to entering it's 10th year of planning. I have titled this post failure because in many people's eyes we - and our church leadership - have failed each other.
Here's the thing........in my Bible concordance, there are only 33 references for any derivative of the word "fail" and most of those are really expressing that God will not fail in expressing love and compassion and in keeping the promises expressed throughout the Bible. I'm not sure there is EVER total failure, for even in our failures we should take something away from it. Remember that quote from Thomas Edison, "If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward."
I also believe that often we can take our failures and make something beautiful from them. I have been working on an art quilt for .....ever? Really, a few years. Early on in the process, I made a mistake. I decided to add some polyester fabric into it. (I know.....GASP!...polyester??...in a quilt?? It's an art quilt, remember.) After I finished sewing it in, I needed to press the whole piece to flatten the seams. My iron was a little too hot and it made a ripple effect. It was a major booboo! But after recovering from my instant dismay, I realized that the piece of fabric that rippled was representing a river of flowing water in the quilt. Actually, it was in the perfect place for the water to ripple in the scheme of the quilt.
Our failures should remind us that we can't control everything. We can't control God, forces of nature, or even each other. It simply doesn't work. God is in control! We need to learn to make something beautiful out of those things we can't control. Will we EVER get to build the building that our congregation envisions? I don't know yet. I do know that we are closer than we've been in our 10 year journey. I do know that we have become a much more beautiful community along the path. We haven't given up on our vision or each other.
"Many of life's falures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." - Thomas Edison.
I also believe that often we can take our failures and make something beautiful from them. I have been working on an art quilt for .....ever? Really, a few years. Early on in the process, I made a mistake. I decided to add some polyester fabric into it. (I know.....GASP!...polyester??...in a quilt?? It's an art quilt, remember.) After I finished sewing it in, I needed to press the whole piece to flatten the seams. My iron was a little too hot and it made a ripple effect. It was a major booboo! But after recovering from my instant dismay, I realized that the piece of fabric that rippled was representing a river of flowing water in the quilt. Actually, it was in the perfect place for the water to ripple in the scheme of the quilt.
Our failures should remind us that we can't control everything. We can't control God, forces of nature, or even each other. It simply doesn't work. God is in control! We need to learn to make something beautiful out of those things we can't control. Will we EVER get to build the building that our congregation envisions? I don't know yet. I do know that we are closer than we've been in our 10 year journey. I do know that we have become a much more beautiful community along the path. We haven't given up on our vision or each other.
"Many of life's falures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." - Thomas Edison.
Gratitude for:
- Meeting in community with an amazing group of people!
- God's grace of beauty in failure.
- Sleeping in my own bed!
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