Mistakes...

Mistakes.  We all make them.  It's a part of life.  It's how we learn.  And if it's how we learn then how come it's wrong to make mistakes?  I guess I should define what I mean by mistakes.  I'm not talking about when we deliberately do something we know is wrong.  I'm talking about when we are trying to do new things or even old thing. When we are learning, which is all the time. 

For example, learning to read.  When a child is learning to read they have to practice, practice, practice.  And in their practicing they make mistakes, but that is how they learn.  What if after making one mistake, they gave up?  That only makes them illiterate. I know, personally, I learn a lot better from a mistake I've made then when I just breeze on through. 

But yet, most of the time, when we make a mistake, we continually beat ourselves up about it.  We may feel guilty or stupid about whatever it was that we did.  But really, we should take the time to look at what happened...what went wrong...and what we can learn from it and move on. When it comes to others we need not only grace but patience.  In our kids, especially, we need to allow the mistakes and then we need to gently and lovingly correct them so that they learn.  We still need to convey our love for them.  They are after all learning. 



But I'm not saying that all mistakes are small and easy to get over.  Some take more time and healing to get through then others.   I just want to convey that we need to be a little easier on ourselves and those around us.  We need to have grace and extend it to ourselves and others. 

And I hope that you will extend grace to me while I'm practicing my writing and communication skills.  I hope this message comes across in the way it's intended.