Dear God!

"I Need To Change, I'm Tired of Failure"
by Gail Ramsey

Dear Daughter,

You were not born to lose, but to win! God has put tremendous ability, creative power, and potential in you!

Sometimes, however, we get into a pattern of failure, and find it hard to break out of. Our self-image is vitally important, far more important than our circumstances. The way we see ourselves is critical to our future success. We MUST keep a vision of what we want to become, continually before our eyes.

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." (Prov. 23:7)

Abraham Lincoln, the great U.S. Republican statesman and the 16th president of the United States is a wonderful example of a man who refused to be defeated. At age twenty-two, he set up a business, but it failed. When he was twenty-three, he ran for legislature and was defeated. Two years after failing in business he tried again to set up another business, and it also failed. He did not let these things discourage him. At twenty-five, two years after being defeated in his run for legislature, he tried again and this time was elected. At twenty-six, when he began to come into the limelight, he lost the woman he loved with whom he was going to share his success. He had a nervous breakdown by the age of twenty-seven.

Abraham Lincoln let none of these things deter him. He may have been knocked down a few times, but the fight wasn't over! He kept his eyes on the prize, regrouped, and began again to focus on his dreams. When he was thirty-four years old, he ran for congress and failed. Three years later, he tried again and succeeded. After serving for two years, he sought for re-election but was defeated. He still did not give up! At forty-six years old he decided to run for senateÉhe was defeated. The following year, he ran for a higher office, the office of the vice president, and was also defeated.

Most of us, at this point, (had we even reached this point!) would have thrown up our hands and said, "That's it! I'm done! I can't go on!" But Abraham Lincoln, mighty man that he was elected and went on to become one of, if not the greatest president America has ever had.

What am I saying? I'm saying that in order to attain success in life, you will be tested. If you try and fail, it's not the end of the world! As my mother used to say, "If at first you don't' succeed, try and try again!"

Gail Ramsey, an ordained minister, portrayed the role of Susan Moore on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. She had other roles on the TV programs Mike Hammer, Generations and California Dreams. Today, Ramsey leads Semeion Ministries, where readers can write her at P.O. Box 77, Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068.

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