The Key to Success is...Failure?

The process of living, for each of us, is pretty similar. For every gain there is a setback. For every success, a failure. For every moment of joy, a time of sadness. For every hope realized, one is dashed.
--Sue Atchley Ebaugh

Time and tide. Who knows what the future holds for each of us? Our lives are a balancing act constantly moving through the bad times while enjoying the good times. We cannot control the things that happen around us any more than we can control the tide of the ocean.

Step three gives us permission to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God. In fact, it's not just something we can do, we must make the decision to do it. And some days we have to "rinse and repeat" this step over and over again.

I often wonder if we weren't faced with challenges and sorrows would we even understand joy, gratitude, or hope. How could those words have any meaning if every thing we did always went our way? They wouldn't. Our failures humble and strengthen us while blessing us with new insights. The tide may turn, but God will always be there to lead us to shore.