Don’t give up, arise and try again! - Han February 13, 2007
Posted by Han in : Testimony , trackbackSomewhere in Mar 1999, I decided to purchase a car. It’s very convenient and I can be more effective in the ministry. So I went to enrolled myself in the driving lesson. After 2 months of attending the practical lesson, I decided to take the test. I went for the theory test first. Out of 50 questions, I made only 2 mistakes, not too bad, ya! So I continue with the practical test.
Who knows, practical test is the killing one. There’s 2 parts in this test: parking and on the road. I passed the first one but I failed the second one. So I got to retake and I enrolled for the second time. I failed again. As for the third time, I went more prepared. After all, I went for the extra lesson. One thing good about my driving school is that you can take the extra lesson without any charges if you failed. But the third time, I failed also! God, please help me! Fourth attempts, failed! It is only at the fifth time, I passed! Praise the Lord! I passed my driving test! I was very happy.
All together, it took me 3 months to get my driving license. It’s really tough for me. Through this experience, I have learned several important lessons.
1) My church is located very near to the driving school. Normally, I will arrange my lesson right after the church service. Many of those in the driving school are unbeliever. When they knew that I am a Christian, they will always laugh at me and say sarcastic things about me. Why don’t you ask your Pastor to go and pray for the examiner? Why your God did not help you? Their words were negative. It’s their attitude that is bad. Well, I did not response much other than to be quiet. I have to learn how to bear with their words.
2) On the fourth attempt, one of the trainers encouraged me to bribe. It is very tempting, once and for all, settle it. Don’t need to go through the same motion again: paying the fee, arranging for the test, driving through the same road and listening to what they have to say. I must be honest, at one point; I am very tempted to do it. I cannot take it anymore; I want to quickly pass. But at the end, I decided not to bribe. With God’s help, I decided to try again.
3) Each time I go for the test I need to apply leave from my work. Many of my colleagues knew that I went to take driving test. When I came back, I would tell them that I failed. Initially I told them that they are biased or they want bribes. But after sometimes, it actually voices down to I am not good! I got to learn how to swallow the humble pie.
4) I’ve learned to persevere and not to give up. On my 3rd and 4th attempts, I really felt like quitting. I am so exhausted and tired. The thought of quitting grew stronger and stronger. I am so tired of applying leave. I don’t want to tell people that I fail again. I don’t want to see the trainer. I don’t want to take the test anymore. I am really tired! I don’t want to repeat the whole process again. But if I don’t face it, how can I drive? One day I have to come back and take the test again. So I have decided no matter how tough it’s going to be; I will face the challenge again. Finally I passed on my 5th attempts.
5) One of the toughest things to learn in life is to accept and face failure. And to tell people that you’ve failed is to add salt to your wounds. Indeed we can’t be successful all the times, there bound to be problems and difficulties. It’s alright to fail. What most important is to have the ability to bounce back again. I know it is not easy because I have gone through it. Today, I can use my experience to challenge others not to give up, arise and try again.
At the end, thanks be to God, I managed to pass on my 5th attempts. In the bible, the number 5 represents “grace”. Truly it is the grace of God that carries me through this tough time. Indeed, God can use the bad experiences in our life to motivate others.
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