Learning From Our Mistakes

My wife is amazing with plants. She has 'green fingers' and is able to produce growth from just about any little bit of leaf. Her expertise was challenged however, when a friend gave her an orchid. The beauty of the blooms was breathtaking, but when the petals eventually dropped, she had to ask for advice as to what to do next. She cut the growth right back to the base, but unfortunately she removed too much by mistake.

Months went by without any movement, it looked dead, finished. But my wife wasn't going to give up on it. She patiently tended it, spraying the plant with a cooling mist and even whispering encouragement. Another year followed and still no growth, except that more long grey roots appeared at the base. Encouraged, she continued with her loving care until yesterday, after over two years, she noticed two new shoots reaching for the sky. The dormant plant was springing into life with the promise of new blooms.

This experience reminds me that if we make a big mistake or take the wrong decision in something important, we have to live with the consequences. We may feel we have messed up big time or failed beyond recovery, but God is so gracious, He doesn't hold our mistakes against us. He never gives up on us and when the time is right, usually when we have learned from the experience, He gives us another chance. Because we have changed, the promised blessing will be greater.

"If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down but the staying down." Mary Pickford

“All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.” Winston Churchill

"I am your God ..... I made you and will care for you; I will give you help and rescue you." Isaiah 46:4 Good News Bible