There seem to be two kinds of résumés in a person’s life.
The first is the résumé that lists academic achievements and social experience.
The second is the résumé of one’s life, written through how a person actually lived.
If the first is something built through the help of parents and one’s surrounding environment,
the second is about how one has lived, regardless of conditions or external circumstances.

In our pursuit of goals, we often find ourselves spiraling into despair—sometimes several times a day.
Just when we think we’ve reached a peak of success and pause to take a breath,
we’re struck down by sudden storms and lose all sense of direction.
These storms might come in the form of material hardship, misunderstandings in relationships, or unexpected accidents.
Life always presents problems.
And in those problems, we wander between peaks and valleys.

Yet the failures and disappointments that block our path may sadden or confuse us temporarily,
but they can never ultimately defeat us.
In fact, it is through failure and disappointment that we learn to cast off fear of the future and embrace a larger vision.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, began writing this classic after he was dismissed from his job at the customs office.
Had he not lost that job, he may never have written a masterpiece that would live on for generations.

Walt Disney was once fired by a newspaper editor for having no creative ideas.
He later faced multiple bankruptcies while trying to start his own business.
Though others saw him as lacking imagination, Disney’s visionary ideas created Disneyland and Disney World—
dreamlands that people around the world hope to visit at least once in their lifetime.
Being fired led him to his personal credo: “Ideas are more important than knowledge,” and he lived it to success.

Henry Ford went bankrupt five times before finally founding the Ford Motor Company.

Abraham Lincoln experienced many failures—business failures, personal loss, nervous breakdowns, and political defeats.
He even lost his fiancée and was bedridden for six months.
He failed to be elected to Congress and lost a bid for vice president by just 100 votes.
Yet in 1860, he was elected President of the United States.
Reflecting on his life, Lincoln said:

“Life was harsh and slippery. Every time I fell, I was alone.
But I always said to myself, ‘This is only a stumble, not a fall from life.’”

The Bible is full of such people too.
Take Moses, for example.
Born a Hebrew slave in Egypt, abandoned by his parents,
he was placed in a basket and set adrift on the Nile to escape Pharaoh’s decree that all newborn Hebrew boys be killed.
He was rescued and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter and enjoyed a privileged life for 40 years.
But one mistake forced him to flee for his life.
He ended up in the wilderness of Midian, where he became a lowly shepherd.

But that wasn’t the end of his story.
In the burning bush on Mount Horeb, he heard God’s call to return to Egypt
—to face Pharaoh, his former peer, no longer as a prince but as a dusty, smelly shepherd holding only a staff.
Despite countless trials, exhaustion, fears, and tears,
he led the Israelites out of Egypt.
Though his royal upbringing was splendid, it alone could not deliver the people.
But his life of faith left a legacy that lived on through generations in God’s redemptive history.

When children first pick up a baseball bat, they don’t hit the ball on the first try.
After many swings and misses, falls and failures, they eventually learn to read the pitch and hit the ball.
Human history continues to progress through those who are not afraid of failure.

The Bible says:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7–8)

This promise continues to give courage and assurance to all of us who stumble along life’s path.

So, when we fail in our pursuits, we need not be excessively discouraged.
Just as some say success is the fruit of failure, failure is never our final defeat.
Rather, it is often through failure that God’s hidden purposes are revealed.

In some churches, members will quietly whisper their concerns to the pastor’s wife instead of speaking directly to the pastor.
They hope the pastor will lead according to their wishes through these gentle suggestions.
But even the pastor’s wife can’t always relay everything.
Sometimes, out of urgency, she might say something—but more often, after three or six months, or even a year,
she learns that the most faithful response is to sift these concerns through prayer and entrust them to the Holy Spirit.

Even if our opinions aren’t accepted today, if they align with God’s will,
there will come a time when circumstances change and bring lasting impact to the church.

One of the deepest pains I’ve experienced while serving alongside my husband
is seeing long-devoted members leave the church overnight.
Often, it happens when their opinions aren’t accepted or when they feel unrecognized.
Despite years of service and fellowship, they walk away.
But this ultimately results in great spiritual loss—not just for them, but for their families too.

Even so, the pastor and I have no choice but to continue praying for them.
And through those tears, we come before God, broken yet faithful.