“You can exist without ever failing, but you can't really live without facing it.”

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus from his book, Chasing Daylight: Seize the Power of Every Moment (Kindle Location 1502). Kindle Edition.

That has been the picture of Margaret and my life. It is really unbelievable the life that we have lived. I am right now sitting outside at Zeli Coffee Bar on the street where the Rose Parade goes down in Pasadena, California with the sun shining on my face. A little over a year ago we were finishing three great years of adventure living on Long Island just outside New York City. We then moved to Seminole, Florida for an exciting nine months on the Gulf of Mexico with my mom, my sister and brother in law and my brother but then the opportunity came and here we are in Pasadena. A lot of potential failures along the way but here we are.

I was reading this morning in the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of Philip. He had had the privilege of meeting an important Ethiopian official and made a difference in his life because he had gone where an angel of the Lord told him to go. He baptized the man then was taken by God to Azotus and he travelled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

He was one of the 11 apostles of Christ who left all to share the news. What if they would have said, “No way, I don’t want to fail like Jesus failed. He was killed.” But they knew they had to face their potential failure to continue doing what Jesus came to do. They did so we can truly live today.

But some would say “That’s them. Not me.” But we have all been given a purpose to live out. And their probably will be some failure, some risking along the way. But you can’t have success without some failure. It goes with the territory. So face the possibility of it happening.

Philip could have said, “I’m not going to talk with that very successful man. I might make a fool out of myself.” But He knew that God would be with Him and would take his humanness and abilities and make a difference in this man’s life.

In each of those moves that we have made this last year, we have made a difference in someone’s life. Yes, it hasn’t all been easy but it has been worth it. That is what real life is all about.

So what is keeping you from really living?

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