So the first time I tried to “fry” chicken resulted in a skillet full of blackened chicken with a strong resemblance to those decorative rocks that people put in their gardens. Did this smokin’ failure signal the end of my ink-still-wet-on-the-license marriage, or at least my cooking career? Of course not! It just led me to try a different kitchen appliance (microwaves turn meat into charcoal briquettes in half the time), and it reassured me that my husband didn’t marry me for my cooking skills, as I watched him literally saw and tenaciously chew his way through that first briquette of chicken wordlessly – he married me in spite of them!

Perhaps I would have fared better with the Israelites where my failed burnt meals could have passed as a burnt offering! The Israelites certainly experienced many failures in their relationship with God, one being to demand a king. But even though they failed time and time again, God showed that He loved them in SPITE of those failures and was willing and able to use the resulting circumstances, just as He worked through King Saul to bring victories and freedom. If we allow it, failure can be a daunting obstacle on the path we walk with God, threatening to trip us up (or throw us out of the smokey kitchen!) But God encourages us to press in closer to Him, as Samuel told the people: “It’s true that you have done something very wrong. All the same, don’t turn your back on God. Worship and serve Him heart and soul!” (12:20, Message)

When things in life don’t go down the path God marked on our life’s map, we should keep hold of that towel – don’t throw it in – and turn TO God wholeheartedly. Too many times in my life when I’ve tripped … weeks and weeks when I didn’t read my Bible or times when I was gearing up to throw a pity party or when I allowed thoughts into my mind and heart that were not true or lovely … instead of turning immediately to God and giving those things to Him, I turned, tucked them deeper within myself and left my Bible lying on the desk, threw the pity party (alone. Mom was right, no one else comes) and verbalized completely misinformed thoughts into hurtful words. But in the midst of my sinful state, as I cleaned up the pity party and turned, there was God waiting for me with open arms. And as I began to worship Him heart and soul, I was reassured of His unfailing love for me.Now when I trip, I am learning to turn to God right away, catch His strong right arm and keep going forward. I’m also learning to disconnect the smoke alarm when I use the stovetop. Wow, that thing is sensitive!