By Klaus Döring
Can you imagine there are benefits to keeping old newspaper clippings? I mean my previously published columns from almost 50 years ago. For me, yes.
I have spent a while considering different visions for young people and education, and in the end, I drew on my own experiences and condensed my vision as an educator into the three-word statement: “courage to achieve.” I certainly had my ups and downs at school, my fair share of failures along the way, and I was taught that it wasn’t good enough to give up or to accept defeat. For me, “courage” is the word that most sums up the process of getting back up and steeling oneself to try again.
From life experiences, I see that progress and failure are both parts of my journey. My columns mostly offer a view into a mirror. I am reminded of God’s grace when I read (and wrote before) about how He helped me find solutions to problems. I also gained insight from past struggles that help with issues I am currently facing during these pandemic times. I remember one of my previous columns entitled “If Failures Get Results.”
God has indeed been faithfully working in my life. I read a story by Dennis Fisher, who didn’t keep publishing clippings but a spiritual journal. He advised, “Journaling may be useful to you too. It can help you see more clearly what God is teaching you on life’s journey. To begin a journal, record your struggles, reflect on a verse that is especially comforting or challenging, or write a prayer of thankfulness for God’s faithfulness.”
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