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“It’s usually not the initial failure that takes any of us out; it’s the bounce.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People (p. 56). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) 

Ok, I know that somewhere you have failed at something.  I have too.

Bob says, “We’ve all hit the ground hard at work or in a relationship or with a big ambition. Whether we had a big, public failure or an even bigger private one, the initial failure won’t crush our spirit or kill our faith; it’s the second hit that does. The second hit is what follows when things go massively wrong or we fail big, and the people we thought would rush to us create distance instead. They express disapproval or treat us with polite indifference.”

He goes on, “If we want to be like Jesus, here’s our simple and courageous job: Catch people on the bounce. When they mess up, reach out to them with love and acceptance the way Jesus did. When they hit hard, run to them with your arms wide open to hug them even harder. God wants to be with them when they mess up, and He wants us to participate.

You might say, “But no one did that for me.”  I know that is usually the reason/excuse why we don’t reach out but remember Jesus reached out.  And you will really feel good that you did.  Why not give it a try?

Also, when you have failed, reach out as soon as you can to a close friend, to God, to His Word and hold on so you won’t bounce.  Will you do that?


Yes, yes!
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