Living on the Frontier

Recently I watched as a rocket exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral.  The Space X rocket is a part of private industry working to make space travel less expensive and more attainable.  As I watched I thought how I might feel if those billions of dollars belonged to me!  I wondered if I would be willing to try it again. A few days later I was watching the morning news when a scientist was asked about the explosion and the negative impact it might have on future efforts.  He surprised me when he said, "it's a good thing!"  Really!!??  Then he said something that grabbed me.  He said "any entity that is unwilling to experience failure is not living on the frontier."  Wow! I wonder how many times we have stopped after failure because it cost us our pride or our reputation?  I wonder how close we were to success or a miracle  and missed it because we couldn't (or wouldn't) pay the price of fully funding the adventure of faith?  It probably isn't too late.  You could be one attempt from success.  Just continuing to struggle toward a dream or vision is much better than living in disappointment over failure.  A lot of people are immobilized by the fear of failure so much that they never actually start.  Since my retirement from serving as a pastor of a church I have experimented with painting.  People told me how relaxing it was to them.  Not so with me!  My painting experiences have been filled with anxiety.  My perfectionism (a weakness) has taken the joy out of painting.  The fear of failure has stopped me in my tracks.  A good friend is an avid painter.  I look at his work and I think, "that's not perfect."  As a matter of fact, some of his work is unrecognizable because it is abstract.  People pay money for his art!  He didn't allow his own fear to stop his ongoing attempts.  He is an artist living on the frontier!  He has motivated me to get back at it with a motivation of enjoying the effort. What area in life will you give another attempt?  What thing will you dust off and try again?  Faith is just such and effort.  Believe again!