Finding Hope in Failure: Why Your Struggles Are Hallowed Ground

I’m so beyond grateful I got to make a quick trip to Idaho this week to watch my sister (Janine Gilbert, English faculty member and totally awesome teacher!) give this week’s BYU-Idaho Devotional talk.

This thought my sister shared during her talk really stuck out to me maybe more than anything else she said, and she said a LOT of inspiring and thought-provoking things during her talk. I’ll be listening to her talk over and over again, for sure. And not just because she’s my sister. It was that good!

I believe this phrase is true no matter what good things we’re trying to accomplish in life whether that’s spiritual growth, physical growth, mental and emotional growth, growing a business, finishing a degree, running a marathon, learning a new hobby, raising kids who are kind, respectful, hard-working…really, anything good and worthwhile we’re trying to accomplish.

And let’s be honest: When we’re trying to accomplish a goal—to become better, we’ll have those times when we feel like a failure. And we often think of those failures—or even those little slips and falls we take during the growth process—in negative ways. And we can use them to beat ourselves up. I know I do this way too often.

But I firmly believe that God, who always wants us to succeed, is there with us EVERY step of the way as we’re trying to become better. Especially when we fail and fall. And since He is right there with us, standing right beside us, always trying to help us through those painful fails and falls—sometimes even carrying us, making us stronger, and using those fails and falls to work for our good and progression, that “ground” we’re standing on when we’re failing or falling? Maybe even over and over again? THAT is hallowed ground.

I’d never really thought about this before, and it’s a whole new perspective that gives me a lot of hope and a greater desire to try even harder to become better and continue to grow in the different areas of my life.

If you’d like to watch, listen to, and/or read Janine’s devotional talk, go here. I promise it’ll be 21 minutes well spent!