Have you ever started doing something and gave up before you completed it? Do you know what it is like to try hard at something and not to be as successful as you wanted?
I’m reminded of a young boy who wanted to play football so badly that even when he was cut during tryouts, he continued to show up everyday for practice. He never missed one. When it was time for the uniforms to be distributed to the team, the coach gave him a jersey too. Although he wasn’t allowed to play, the young boy was so proud to be a part of the team that he sought out private coaching that year. The next summer he returned to the team for tryouts, and this time he was chosen to start. He displayed two essential traits necessary for success—commitment and consistency.
Sometimes trying hard can be frustrating, especially when you don’t get the results you had hoped for. Giving up comes easy at that point if you stop trying. Unfortunately when you give up, you never know what the end could have been. Growth often comes disguised as failure, which can teach us patience and humility.
Ecclesiastes 7:8a reads, “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning of it…” Whenever you start something that matters to you, don’t give up because it gets difficult. Keep taking steps toward your goal—however small or insignificant they may seem. Nothin' beats a failure but a TRY!