OUR NEW VISION- Part 2: What Failure has Taught Us

Family and Friends,

*This is part 2 of 6 in the "OUR NEW VISION" blog series detailing our plans for reengaging in ministry in Haiti after 16 months hiatus*

Failure is a great tool for learning and building character.  Many of you have probably seen the recent Steven Spielberg film, "Lincoln", which details the final weeks leading up to the passing of the 13th Amendment of our Constitution.  That important document guaranteed the end of slavery in the United States for all time.  Lincoln struggled and sacrificed greatly to achieve victory against almost impossible odds, but his intense resolve and unwavering drive to succeed came from a place one might not suspect, I believe.  Was it his faith in Christ and a belief that God created all humans equal?  Yes, of course, but there was more to the story.

Who hasn't heard of the many failures of that famous president before he somehow managed to obtain the highest office in our land, not to mention successfully navigate our country through quite possibly the most troubled time in our history?  He lost many more elections than he won along the way, but he had a vision, and the trials and humiliations only made him stronger and more determined.  Failure made Abraham Lincoln who he was.  Many people have strong faith, but few are willing to utilize that faith to the utmost limit until failure occurs.  Fewer still are willing to travel that road and plummet over that cliff multiple times in life. 

In fact, it might even be said that failure or failing is the only way to be sure a person has reached his/her fullest potential.  If you could take a snapshot of that moment right before the failure occurs, you would see yourself functioning at your absolute limit, your best, your most daring.  Without being willing to fail, you would never have reached that point of extreme exercising of your faith, brief though it might have been.  The highest success cannot exist without failing, or at least the risk of failure.

But how many of us live our lives that way?  Don't we normally choose a much safer path, preferring to be "in control" if possible?  In a society where the mitigation of risk is shamelessly sold as a line of products guaranteeing future security and even happiness, are we truly willing to lay everything we are and have on the line to follow Jesus?  And if we do fail in this life, does it lead to a hunkering down of sorts, a withdrawal from risk, and a life characterized by timidity or even fear?  

Sixteen months ago we experienced a heartbreaking failure when our relationship with the mission organization we were serving quickly deteriorated, resulting in our resignation from our position as missionaries in Haiti.  On that day we lost so much either temporarily or permanently:  our friends in Haiti, our home, our ministry, our dream of building a Bible School in a developing country and the finances already donated to achieve that goal, our personal income, our identity, and our trust in most American Christians. 

Probably the most disturbing part of the whole experience, however, is how deeply we allowed ourselves to be hurt.  That was the true failure.  We did hunker down and withdraw.  We did become risk-averse.  Indeed, here we are 16 months later just getting back to what we have known all along was our true calling.  We have missed out on a lot, no doubt, yet God is gracious and He has taught us many lessons in the midst of our failure.  Below are two key examples:


LESSON #1-  It takes a great deal of sacrifice, discipline, and faith for "normal" American Christians to engage in international missions.

Finding ourselves no longer missionaries to Haiti, we looked around and realized we had to try to piece together some sort of life in this country for the time being.  Not sure where else to start, I began combing the want ads for a job.  It would have been preferable to find a job "in ministry," no doubt, but those opportunities take a minimum of 4-6 months to land and we had bills to pay and nowhere to live.  Also, we knew deep down that it wouldn't be right to take a long-term, full-time ministry job while harboring the hope of continuing as missionaries again as soon as possible.

After a couple of weeks I was offered a job as an "operator" at an ethanol plant near Ashton, Iowa.  I truly had no idea what the job required, and the schedule seemed quite odd (rotating nights/days as well as weekdays/weekends, not to mention 12-hour shifts).  I needed a job and nothing else was opening up, so I took the offer.  Over the course of the next year I made some great friends, moved up to Operations Supervisor, and most importantly, reconnected with the difficulty of living everyday life in the United States.

I also had the chance to take a position leading worship in Luverne, MN, at the American Reformed Church, which has been a great blessing.  The kids were busy with school and other activities, and Lynn held the fort down at home while keeping us all focused and on-schedule.  She also maintained contact daily with our Haitian friends and made new international acquaintances as well.  It was a busy year and we came to understand how easy it is to neglect God's call to reach the nations when it requires almost every ounce of energy we have just to accomplish the tasks of daily life.

So all of that to say, we truly appreciate everyone reading this blog, praying for us and the people of Haiti, contributing to our work, or even travelling with us to Haiti at some point.  We now have been vividly reminded how difficult it can be to squeeze out the extra time to fulfill those commitments, and we want to do everything we can to make it worth your while when you take that important step of faith.  This is partly why we have re-envisioned our approach to missions in order to make the most impact possible.  More on that in the posts to come... 


 LESSON #2-  Following Christ is worth the risk of failure.

Call it thicker skin, callousness, increased resolve, or stronger faith.  Whatever it is, or whatever combination of that list of things, we now have a healthy dose of it, and we are more willing than ever before to take risks and dream big dreams for Christ.  Most importantly, we have discovered we cannot be at peace, because the love of Christ continues to flow into our hearts for our friends in Haiti.  We need to continue to follow Jesus, and that means going to Haiti for us...and that means risking failure.  But like Lincoln, failure has been good for us, or at least God has used it for our good. Over the course of the sixteen months our hunkering down gradually transformed into a time of recovery and re-imagining what is possible with God's help, and in the midst of it all fear began to diminish.  Now we plan to push this ministry to the limit, actually believing that lives and cultures will be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We plan to test those limits and fearlessly toe the line of failure in everything we do.

Helen Keller says it well...

              Security is mostly a superstition.  It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as
         a whole experience it.  Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. 
         Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
 

 

Most importantly, we need to continually remind ourselves of what is at stake...the glory of God, the redemption of his lost children, and the sanctification of believers as we participate in this grand narrative with Christ.  What failure(s) would be too much to risk to achieve these goals?  And if and when we fail, we are still better off than those who never tried. People often talk about the sacrifice of missionaries, but we missionaries all privately laugh at those comments.  Those who choose not to participate in the adventure make the real sacrifice. 

In the coming posts we will comment more on the nuts and bolts of what we are attempting to accomplish through the mission organization we are planning to launch.  OUR NEW VISION actually does contain practical steps we will be taking to impact Haiti, the US, and the whole world.  Today, however, we hope our simple story of failure will inspire you and help you understand that God is not looking for ability, but availability, as the saying goes. 


May you follow Jesus until you fail today... and then may you get up tomorrow and do it again!

-the Grimm Family Adventurers (failures)