I thought I was failing

There was a season in my life where I truly believed I was failing.

Failing as a mother.

Failing in relationships.

Failing in my goals.

Failing in my healing.

Failing in becoming who I believed God called me to be.

But what I’ve learned now is this:

I wasn’t failing — I was learning. I was being stretched. I was being developed.

We live in a world where if something doesn’t work the first time, we call it failure.

But God doesn’t call it failure — He calls it process.

The Practical Part

Here are a few things I had to learn the hard way:

1. Every mistake is information.

Instead of saying “I messed everything up,” ask: What did this teach me?

2. Accountability will grow you.

Everything is not the devil. Everything is not other people. Sometimes we have to look in the mirror and say, Okay, what can I do better next time?

3. Growth is uncomfortable.

If you feel stretched, uncertain, or like you’re outgrowing old habits, old mindsets, or even old environments — that’s not failure. That’s growth.

4. Stop measuring progress by perfection.

Progress looks like:

• Responding better instead of reacting

• Making better decisions

• Setting boundaries

• Walking away from what’s not for you

• Trying again with more wisdom

That’s not failure. That’s maturity.

The Scripture

Proverbs 24:16 says:

“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again.”

Notice it doesn’t say the righteous never fall.

It says they get back up.

So maybe the real failure is not falling.

Maybe the real failure is refusing to get back up, refusing to learn, and refusing to grow.

So If You Feel Like You’re Failing Right Now…

Ask yourself these three questions:

1. What did this season teach me?

2. What do I need to do differently next time?

3. Who am I becoming through this?

Because you are not just going through —

You are growing through. You are becoming through.

And maybe, just maybe…

You didn’t fail. You just learned.

— Becoming H.E.R. with Ashley Nicole