Want To Acheive God's Perfect Will? Make Mistakes

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2


By: Carol McClain @carol_mcclain

I love stained glass.

I also adore anything complex. Simple bores me, and if I'm bored I lose interest.

My first solo glass

Therefore, my first solo stained glass piece was my own design of my Springer spaniel, Callie. Happily I cut and foiled and ground the glass. I'm very good at colors and textures, and my progress delighted me.

Everything fit together on the individual pattern until...

I put the whole piece together and began the soldering.

Suddenly gaping holes appeared in my design. Some potholes I could fit with small pieces of glass--others were too tiny to grind and foil and fill. My gorgeous, complicated depiction of Callie looked like it'd had a severe case of acne--pock-marked and miserable.

So I had choices to make:

1. smash my piece to smithereens
2. quit
3. finish the work and move on.
4. learn from my mistakes

Fortunately, I chose the last two.

later work

I filled in the holes with solder and it hangs in my studio--never to be sold or displayed, but a panel that delights me.

Today, my glass fits together better. My soldering is acceptable. My panels complex and beautiful, intrigue me.

But I haven't arrived.

And that's us in finding God's perfect will.

If we don't take risks, we'll never achieve God's perfect will for our lives. (Click to tweet) His path for us isn't straight--seeing as we've all sinned. Those detours, though, give us compassion and faith and understanding. We learn, grow and walk in the ways of God.

The following people prove I'm not an anecdotal example of success through failure. All of the following failed royally:

1. Jonathon Adler. The famous potter was told he'd never make it. Therefore, he tried all different fields and failed. Finally, he decided to be a potter selling wares at craft shows. Today, he has 28 designer stores around the world that I cannot afford an item from.
2. Walt Disney. He was fired from a newspaper because he lacked imagination and good ideas.
3. Oprah Winfrey. Had been fired as a reporter because she was too emotionally vested in her stories.
4. Steven Spielberg. The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts rejected him several times.
5. Vera Wang. She failed to make the 1968 Olympic Figure Skating Team so she got a job at Vogue. The hierarchy there passed over her for the job of editor-in-chief.
6. Thomas Edison. One of his school teachers told him he was too stupid to learn anything. He went on to be fired from a couple of jobs before the light bulb went off.
7. J.K. Rowling. Lived on welfare until she made magic with Harry Potter.

And too many others exist to name in one blog.

Don't quit. Don't fear mistakes. As Edison said about the invention of the light bulb: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." click to tweet

Mistakes: Make Them Good

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" Rom. 8:1.

Mistakes. Ever make one?

Usually we don't like to admit it--especially publicly. But I have little pride.

Mistakes are good.

Last week began my crazy week. I taught at a woman's retreat, had approximately 3.5 tons of yard work to complete and then needed to prep for a Missions Retreat this weekend before I left for my daughters.

In that mess, a casual friend held the memorial service for her mother. Where could I fit that visitation into this schedule, especially as I live twenty-minutes from town.

Skip the pizza: serve the person.

I had the perfect solution. On my way home from the retreat, I stopped at a pizza parlor and put in my to-go order. I headed over to the calling hours.

Ordinarily, these gatherings have a long line of mourners, so I figured I'd take my place in line, offer condolences, spend ten-fifteen minutes and then take dinner home to hubby and collapse.

When I arrived, I was the only visitor. Of family, only four people beside my friend attended. My heart broke at the loneliness and isolation she must have felt. 

My friend showed me, with great pride, the few mementos she had of her mom. I watched the video and tried to keep straight the family members she pointed out.

Choose life

But my mind whirred.

I was exhausted. My pizza was cooling down the road. A twenty-minute ride loomed ahead of me. Yet, grief, loneliness and isolation wrapped themselves here in the church sanctuary.

After a half-hour, I allowed the evil trinity of my current life compel me out of the sanctuary. I picked up my dinner and headed home.

I was wrong.

A quick phone call to my husband would have allayed worries about my delay. The pizza had been paid for, and we had an oven to bake it in. I should have stayed.

Lessons of a Recovering Perfectionist

• No condemnation. I felt bad, and I should have. Life and friendship is more than the busyness of our own selves. I needed to use this time to learn a lesson.
• Mistakes teach us lessons. Do you think I'll ever let my life dictate my love for others again? Nope. I married a good man. My love for others outweighs my comfort--and people will take a higher priority in my life until I get it right.
• Perfection comes only though Jesus. I goofed. But when the missions conference rolled around, we had an extra room. My closest friend who organized the trip for our church asked me if this woman whose mother had passed should be invited. With glee I nearly leaped up and down. My answer, "Yes, yes, yes." And we were able to bless my friend. I grew to know her more. 

Quick Tweet

Mistakes make us grow. click to tweet

Lessons from a recovering perfectionist. click to tweet

How have mistakes made you more Christlike?