Creating Space For Failure

I’ve been thinking about what it means to create space for failure. 

Not because I aim to fail - but because I know that fear of failure often keeps us from beginning at all.

When I first felt the nudge to start these monthly letters and share scripture publicly, I hesitated.

I wondered:
Who will want to read this?
What if no one opens the email?
What if I don’t say what I want to say well?
What if I misunderstand something and look foolish?

It felt safer to keep my reflections private. Safer to study quietly. Safer to never press “send.”  The same scenario plays out in my head each time I post a new baking class.  What if people find out I'm not formally trained?  What if I teach something the wrong way?  What if I make a mistake?

I'm realizing that my fear is about exposure. About not looking capable. About being seen while still learning. Its about failing where others can see it.

But Scripture says, 

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.  2 Timothy 1:7

Fear would have kept these letters unwritten and the classes unpublished. Fear would have kept scripture confined to my journal instead of shared online. Fear almost convinced me that imperfect obedience was worse than quiet comfort.

And yet, throughout the bible, God works through people who are visibly unfinished, unpolished and certainly not qualified. Peter stepped out of the boat - and yes, he sank. But he also walked on water. The only disciple who stumbled was also the only one who stepped.

Proverbs reminds us, For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again. Proverbs 24:16

Faith isn’t the absence of falling - it’s the willingness to rise again, trusting that God meets us there.

Failure, in God’s hands, is not final. It is formative. And often times the greater risk is not trying at all.

Creating space for failure doesn’t mean lowering your standards. It means loosening your grip on perfection. It means caring more about obedience than about appearance.

I’m sitting with a few questions - and I invite you to do the same:

• Where do I feel stuck right now?
• Am I avoiding something because I’m afraid to fail?
• Am I more concerned with looking capable than with being obedient?
• What would I attempt if I trusted that God could use even my missteps?

You do not need certainty to move forward.  You need trust.  And trust often grows when we are willing to try—and willing to rise again.

A Prayer for Courage

Lord,
You see the places where I hesitate. You know the fears I carry - the ones about failing, about looking foolish, about not being enough. Give me courage to step forward anyway. Help me care more about obedience than about appearance. When I fall, remind me that You are near. Teach me to rise again, trusting that You are shaping me through every attempt.

Amen.