Tuesday 29 January 2008

VII. Jesus falls for the second time


I didn't so much fall off the wagon, as fail get on it after Christmas. It was my intention to give up any alcohol during the working week. This wouldn't be asking too much. Most nights we have wine with our dinner. I just thought that giving this habit up for a bit would be good for body and soul. The theory was good, but the practice never got off the ground. Sure there was a week where I didn't drink a drop, but after that refusing a glass of wine seemed miserable. There are still at least three days a week where I don't even walk through the door of home before bedtime, and so both dinner and a drink are out of the question. This little episode of intention verses action has raised several questions for me.

1. What do we identify as failure in our lives? Are we right?
2. Is there a difference between what seems like failure, and what actually is failure?
3. Is it important to fail so as to learn better from our mistakes?

Lent is only just around the corner, and I have decided to try to succeed where I have already failed and give up alcohol for the season, however boring this may seem. This is a shot in the dark as I haven't a clue what it is possible to learn from such an excersize. Jesus falling on the via dolorosa may have seemed like failure at the time, but looking back that cannot be right. He was doing the best he could with what was asked of him, and that was quite a mammoth task in itself! Failure is elusive, and I am not sure that we can ever be certain what we have failed at until we reach the end of our lives. We can be certain that failure exists and that we have succumbed to it, but never to what extent and how our experiences will help us to grow. In conclusion, I am not sure whether failure can be considered important. It happens, but what is most important is that people keep on going, and it is on this that salvation depends.

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