The dozen Tiff’s Treats cookies given to me were my downfall. Or my lack of discipline. Or the sugar addiction I share with millions of other Americans. Long and short of it – I failed.

It doesn’t happen often.

Not because I’m invincibly awesome (but thanks for that kind assumption), rather because I only enter contests I’m sure to win. Sun Tzu taught me that. Eliminating sweets from my diet for 30 days was daunting, but I had done it before – surely I could do it again. Nope. Not even close. And there was no timidity in breaking that “sugar fast”: eight of those twelve cookies were consumed in two days. Maybe one and a half, with no sharing involved.

So why am I so waving my white feather of food cowardice across public domain?

Self flagellation for one.

More importantly to remind myself, and perhaps you, that failure is tough, embarrassing, weight inducing, and inevitable. We are fallen creatures; at least I am, with failure a staple of our menu. Even in arenas that witnessed previous victories, and when we hope our strength is found in the Lord Jesus Christ – disaster can find us. The breakdown, as frustrating as it may be, is not as important as our response. Which, since this is a post of confessions, my Tiff’s Treat indulgence was followed by a week of “see it, eat it” sweets consumption. Wrong response, opposite of what ought to be done. Yet it gave me another opportunity to practice responding to failure, albiet upon failure.

When we find ourselves in the miry muck of our own inadequacy…Psalm 40 has words of wisdom:

“I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.”

No matter how often our failures land us in pits of despair, at our cry (and sometimes prior to the voice of our despondency) God’s hand extends to lift us out and up.  So thank you delectable bundles of sugar, sprinkles and chocolate. To you I fell, but in that tumble the Lord reminded me of His unfailing goodness and mercies renewed each morning. Talk about sweetness!