Nobody likes failing and having to start over.

At least, I don’t know anyone who looks forward to it.

Sure, there are others like me, those rare crazy ones who love the thrill of a new venture, but not on the tails of failure.

If you’ve spent any time building anything, you know that uneasy feeling in your stomach when you have to begin again. It’s SUCKS!  It’s HARD starting over again!

This is why so many of us stay in jobs we dislike, or even hate!  It’s why we keep going back to the same old, unhealthy addictions that leave us empty and broken.

Why?

It’s just easier.

Over the last several weeks I felt as if I have been sliding towards a black abyss…

to be 100% honest,  recently, i’ve tumbled over the edge.

How?

I’ve failed once again!

This time it is costing my family and me a lot – emotionally, mentally, financially, and physically.

In the midst of this abyss, I’m finding something beautiful about starting over.  Something that calls to me & something that scares the CRAP out of me. There’s something liberating about beginning again. At the same time there’s something terrifying.

As I now look for work, do yard jobs, assist construction crews, and continue blogging, I’d like to encourage you consider making a fresh start in something this week.

Back to zero?  Start over again?

I just had a conversation with my wife after bursting into tears as we face this reality with three kids and minds full of questions as we are having to start something over. After being in Pastoral Ministry for 16+ I feel like pursuing a career outside “ministry” means going back to zero. Not true…. I hope. 🙂

When you start something new, you’re not really beginning from ground zero again.

Your past experiences, failures, and successes have all taught you something!  Just maybe more than you realize. And that knowledge plus your enhanced skill set, means that you aren’t starting over – You’re simple beginning again.

Do something new, now

How can I do something new?  How will I be able to provide for my family if I venture down this path?  Lingering, taunting, and gut wrenching questions that spin around and around in the back of my head!

But, when was the last time I did something for the first time?

What did it feel like?

It was probably a little fun, possibly even thrilling. I bet it required some hard work, too.

Maybe it’s time to do that again. To take a risk. To break a rule. To make a start.

Maybe you’re in a season in which you feel like what you’re doing is all for nothing, that you’re doing all this work and nobody’s paying attention.

Maybe you’re being prepared for a season that hasn’t come yet. If that’s the case, may I encourage you to do one thing?

Step forward… Just take one step…

Even when the fruit isn’t there… take one step forward.

Even when the critics tell you to quit… take one step forward.

Even when you’re tired and tempted to throw in the towel… take one step forward.

If this is a time of preparation for you (and not a time to start), do the work. Take one step forward. Because what you are doing is tilling the ground and planting seeds – okay, that’s for my grandfather and for all you farmer folk —and though you may not reap them for some time, the work you’re doing is not pointless.

Stay the course, be brave, and your season will come. I hope!

What’s the hardest part for you about starting over? Share in the comments

If you don’t know where to begin, Seth Godin’s book Poke the Box, is a great read. That’s my one step forward for the week.  I’d be honored to hear what step your taking.