Courage to Face Failure

Eight-year-old Gilbert was a member of Cub Scouts. Once a car race was organized for the Scouts. Of course, it was not a car race with real cars but one with cars manufactured by the Scouts.

The organizers supplied car-kits with four tyres and other parts in each. The body of the car had to be made using small pieces of wood. An instruction manual also came with every car-kit. The children were free to get help from their parents in building their cars. 

Gilbert rushed home with the kit to construct his car for the race. Brimming with enthusiasm, he approached his dad for help. But his dad was not enthused; he thought it was utter nonsense to waste time on projects like that. And he said so to Gilbert.

Gilbert was shattered as he was counting on the help from his dad. However, he did not give up; he set out to make the car. And his mom, though unsure about the project, offered her help.

With no training in carpentry, both Gilbert and his mom struggled hard with chisel and hammer. Within a few days they were able to give shape to a racecar. By polishing it they tried to make it look beautiful.

The much-awaited day of the competition came. All the Cub Scouts arrived with their well-built, shiny race cars. In comparison Gilbert’s car looked awful. A few of the Scouts even made fun of his race car. The competition was one-on-one. The winner had to face the next competitor. The competitors had to push their cars from the starting line up. The car that reached the farthest was declared the winner.

 Every Cub Scout had both his parents to watch the competition. However, Gilbert had only his mom with him. He tried to put up a brave face in the absence of his dad.

The competition began. And luck was with Gilbert. He reached the final, beating his opponents one by one. When it was time for the final match, Gilbert said to the match referee: “Please give me a minute. I want to pray.” The referee granted his request. And he prayed on his knees with folded hands for 90 seconds. After his prayer, he said to the referee: “I am ready. Let’s start the match.”

At the sound of the whistle, Gilbert pushed his car with his whole might from the starting line up. While everyone anxiously looked on, his car came ahead beating the other finalist. Gilbert raised his eyes to heaven saying, “Thank you, God.” 

At the prize-giving ceremony, the Scout Master asked Gilbert, “So you asked God to help you win the race, didn’t you?” Then Gilbert said, “No, no. That would not have been fair. I only asked God to give me the strength not to cry if I didn’t win.”

We often pray. But what do we pray for? We pray to win. We pray to realize all our dreams and ambitions, don’t we? But we never pray for the strength to face failures and problems in life, do we? We don’t always need the things we ask for in prayer. What we really need is the strength to face the daily pressures and failures in life. That is what Gilbert prayed for. And that is primarily what we should also be praying for.