Dick Cheney Proved that Failure is not the End

 

Former vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney passed away on November 3^rd of this year, and whether you agreed with him or not, you must admit that he had a direct impact on the path of this nation. During his career, Mr. Cheney served in the U. S. House of Representatives and held various offices under three different presidents. By most measures he was successful even though there will always be questions about his role in the War in Iraq.

Following Cheney’s death, the YaleNews posted a very good article about his life, pointing out that he started his college career at the Ivy League university. However, the article leaves out the year that Cheney graduated because…well…he didn’t. In fact, he flunked out of the school: twice. Eventually he would earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees while attending the University of Wyoming, but Yale would stand as a blotch on Cheney’s academic record. Fortunately, that failure did not stop Cheney from becoming what the article describes as, “Widely considered one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history.” So even the school where Cheney met failure admits that in the long run the man was quite successful.

All too often we paint failure as the end, especially for someone who fails school. But failure is one of the consequences that sometimes comes with not standing still on the path of life. Yes, it may be a sign that a course change is needed but it does not have to be the end. In the long run, whether a person fails is much less important than how that person handles it when they fail. Dick Cheney changed course after his failure and went on to live what the YaleNews calls “a consequential public life.” Of his many great successes, proving that failure is not the end might be his most meaningful message to the world.

From the YaleNews - For Cheney, a Yale start and a consequential public life

Food App Mis-H-App

 

If you will indulge me, I would like to complain for a minute or two about Food Apps. Yes, those apps on the phone that most of us use here in the United States to order food. Sometimes I use them for delivery and sometimes I use them to save time when I go to pick up our food for my family. Sometimes the app is one that orders directly from the restaurant and sometimes it’s from a delivery service of one kind or another. Most of the time these apps are a wonderful convenience. Unfortunately, there have been numerous times when various restaurants got the order wrong and using these apps was anything but convenient.

I once had a restaurant cancel my order without explanation and without so much as a text. They did send an email, but I didn’t see it until after we had waited way too long for our food. Then there was the time when the app confirmed the order, and even charged my credit card, but when I arrived to pick up the food, the restaurant had no record of the order. The cashier explained that they had been having trouble with the app all evening and said I had to call customer service at their national headquarters. Customer service directed me back to the local franchise. Eventually someone, or something, must have caught the mistake because they refunded my money. Still, the ordeal left me wondering if I would ever go back to that chain.

More often than not, my app mishaps do not involve entire orders that evaporate into the cloud, but I have had several deliveries where one or two items were missing. That happened the last two times I ordered delivery, from two different restaurants. Once again these were national chains, and their customer service departments were good about it. One gave me a credit towards a future purchase (better than nothing). The other (Chick-fil-A) gave me a refund for the missing item.

While I enjoy the convenience of using these food apps, I think I’ll go back to driving to restaurants myself. That will allow me to check the order before I walk away. Plus, I figure if I have to make any more claims to customer service, someone is going to investigate whether or not I’m pulling a scam. It definitely beats having to figure out which family member goes hungry because the order was missing their item. (Just kidding.) It’s time to avoid food app mishaps and that means doing things the old-fashioned way. Now, where are my car keys?

The Greatest Bible Teacher

Admit it. Sometimes the Bible is hard to understand and it’s sometimes difficult to trust in God’s viewpoint. The same was true about the parables that Jesus taught. Back then, those who were around Him had to ask about the parables and those whom He described as outside the Kingdom were lost, both literally and figuratively. But while Jesus knew that the lost would struggle with the mysteries of His teaching, He wanted His disciples, and I suspect anyone who sought His wisdom, to know the meaning of His parables. As such He sat and taught them, opening their understanding so that they might be encouraged to live out their lives as God’s children.

Mark 4:33-34 paints a beautiful picture of Jesus taking the time to teach His followers. Today His followers can have a similar experience with the Spirit of God taking the time to teach us. But are we willing to ask and to seek and to admit that we don’t always understand just as His followers asked back then? If we are, then we have the Comforter and He is tasked with teaching us all things.

When you find yourself struggling to understand, and even when you think that you fully understand, stop and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you. We are blessed to have the world’s greatest Bible Teacher, the One who inspired all scripture, always with us and ready to help us understand. Are you ready to learn?