A Receipt for Disaster

I consider myself an amateur baker by necessity. That is, when I desire some tasty creation, I strap on my figurative apron and get to work. Recently, I was challenged to make the perfect monster cookie. Containing my favorite ingredients of oats, peanut butter, chocolate, and M&M’s, what could go wrong? Despite selecting the best 5-star recipe I could find online, the final product was less than impressive. The texture was off, the presentation was a bit repulsive, and the flavor left me wanting….something else.  

Failure is a common malady of humankind. As parents, we often tend to try to shield our children from failure or even, at times, deny it. But without failure, much learning and growth is unavailable for development in so many healthy areas. Check out this short list of failures that were overcome in notable ways.

Steve Jobs was fired from Apple in 1985.
Colonel Sanders was rejected by over 1,000 restaurants before establishing KFC.
Henry Ford's first 2 automotive companies failed.
"Star Wars" was rejected by several film studios for being too unconventional and risky.
"The Lord of the Rings" was rejected by multiple publishers for being too long and complex.
Thomas Edison failed in 1,000 experiments before perfecting the light bulb.
Albert Einstein was turned down by many universities and even expelled from his first school.
Abraham Lincoln failed in many business ventures and political campaigns over his life.
Emily Dickinson did not achieve success as a poet during her lifetime.
Amelia Earhart struggled to make a living as a pilot and had to work many odd jobs to support herself.
The experts of the day told the Wright brothers that it was impossible to create a flying machine.
Michael Jordan was cut from the high school basketball team.

Imagine how many significant accomplishments might have been delayed or even never reached had the process of failure been avoided. As disciples of Jesus Christ, our end goal is more than just simple accomplishments (though often present through God’s good plans). We desire to produce “good works that God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). These good works are a disciple’s response to God’s grace through faith. While redeemed through the saving gospel of Jesus Christ, our human weakness requires us to press into God’s power living inside of us for God to work through our weakness.

This weakness sometimes produces failure. However, embracing failure and learning from it develops a greater capacity for good. The qualities of perseverance, humility, collaboration, and a correct identity in Christ are invaluable byproducts of working through failure. As parents, we should encourage healthy risk-taking for our children. We should be quick to encourage their big dreams and quick to appreciate the value of failure. May we not simply dismiss or wrongly rationalize mistakes but capitalize on the growth available for our children.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, goes as far as to say that we should rejoice in our trials. He knew the secret of success that comes through adversity. The antidote to failure is to adapt and try again. While I have yet to find success in my monster cookie adventure, through the process of failure, maybe someday I will find myself starring on a baking show, even if it is just as a taste tester!