Setbacks May Be Inevitable, But They Don’t Have To Define Us

“Bijou, no!” I wailed from across the room. Too late. My sweet puppy with the angelic face had already squatted and relieved herself on my newly-washed bath mat. The breeder had trained our puppy to use dog pads, which we thought was a good thing. Until our dog trainer shook her head. “Puppies can’t tell the difference between a pad and a rug,” she sighed, then added, “It’s just so hard to break them of that habit.”

So true, I thought as I gathered the cleaning supplies and took the mat to be washed, yet again. And we had made so much progress. While we worked on potty training, we removed all the bath mats and rugs in our house. Bijou had responded so well, we thought it safe to bring them back. But this was now her second accident.

Setbacks, whether we’re training our puppy, or ourselves, are hard. For months I worked on building healthier habits. I focused on making better food choices, and blocking out time to swim at the Rec Center. But when I lost sleep by working too late, I slid back into my old ways. I chose convenient foods over healthy ones. And I settled for restful activities over swimming. By the end of the week, frustration filled my soul. It felt like all my progress over the last several months had been lost in one short week.

In a perfect world, we would never suffer a setback. We would continue to progress toward our goals without hindrance. But we live in a fallen world where setbacks are the norm, not the exception. Maybe this is why God gives us this gem of wisdom:

For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
     but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes. (Proverbs 24:16 NIV)

Resilience, the ability to bounce back from adversity, is attributed to those who faithfully follow God and choose His ways. So I’m learning to not hit the panic button when I experience a setback. No matter how hard I try to avoid them, setbacks are inevitable. So when they happen, I need to muster the resolve to rise up and try again. This is key to living a righteous life in this fallen world. 

This week, I’m back on track with good eating choices. And I’ve faithfully hit the pool. To my surprise, my poor choices from last week didn’t completely derail my progress toward better health. It was simply a step in the wrong direction of an otherwise well-traveled path. 

And Bijou? Well, her setback may also be my fault. I realize I’d grown lax at taking her out every couple of hours. Now that I’m back on track with her, she is also doing much better.

No matter where my life’s path takes me, I know there will always be setbacks. I pray to find the resilience to bounce back and keep moving forward with the One who leads me home. Wherever your path takes you, I pray you can do the same.