Recently, I suffered a huge setback in my writing career. I have been writing screenplays for over 20 years and in November of 2022 I went to Los Angeles for a conference of film companies and makers. When i was there I met someone who was familiar with one of the topics of my writing. He wanted to meet! For the first time in those 20+ years I was in front of a Hollywood film producer who was actually interested in my work! However, due to forces beyond my control, the opportunity dissolved like sand through my fingers. All I could do was watch it disappear. Now, It would have been one thing if I had said something cavalier to him that someone someplace could have thought to be offense or if I been late or somehow disrespectful of his time. However, I was on-time and I understood the gravity of this opportunity and I was very, very, very careful to be sure all my t’s were crossed and all my i’s were dotted. All my ducks were in a row and ready to quack. No one could have been better prepared. There was nothing I could have done differently. It just was not meant to be.

George Burns said it best, “Showbiz is a hideous bitch goddess“!

Understandably, I was really depressed for several weeks. I was depressed because I want to be successful in my chosen areas. I want to be a successful screenwriter. I want to be a successful and dependable worker, a knowledgeable coder and administrator of Microsoft Azure. I want to be successful as a father, a partner, friend, and lover. I want to be a successful person in family and business and life.

However, I had to remind myself that the Lord’s job for me on this planet is not be successful, that way. The Lord is not going to judge me on any of that. When all is said and done, He is not going to ask me how quickly I climbed the corporate ladder. He is not even going to ask me if I was able to attend all my son’s soccer games. He is not going to ask me if I was able to remodel the bathroom. He is not going to ask me how many computer certifications I was able to obtain. He is not going to ask me how successful as an entrepreneur I was.

Successes on Earth will come and go but He is going to ask me if I was successful in Him. He will ask me how faithfully I followed Him and if I loved other people the way that He loves them. He is going to ask me if I considered all of my money to be His and if I gave of it to help those in need. He did not put me on this Earth to be successful (in the world’s standards) I was put here to be faithful. Things like awards and rewards and even money definitely cannot be my ultimate goal as our God is a jealous god.

Again, I do want those things! I want and need to get paid! And yes, I did EVERYTHING I could do to be successful in that meeting, but ultimately, He had the final say. Will I keep trying, YES. Will I do EVERYTHING I can to make it happen, YES. Is success in that field or other areas of life the reason I was put on Earth? No. It definitely puts such failures in perspective.

Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

——————————————————————————————–W.