If it wasn't for failure, I'd have nothing to be proud of

Failure is possibly humanity's greatest common denominator. We've all failed. We're all going to fail again. Failure is a part of life, and a vital key to success. Everyone from Michael Jordan to Thomas Edison has extolled the virtues of failing.

In the Disney film Meet The Robinsons, the Robinson family celebrates each failure, recognizing it as the next step to success. And this is all great, and there's a lot of truth to be learned from all this. But the joy in failure goes even deeper.

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 - Emphasis mine. Obviously.)

I, like Paul, can celebrate failure because it is a reminder that I need God. I need God because I am too small to save myself. Because I am too broken to heal others on my own. Because I am too weak to serve Him in my own strength. 

And I rejoice in this need for Him, just as I rejoice in my need for my family. It is this need that brings us together and binds us. It is this need that becomes relationship, and love, and joy. Need is the basis for community itself, and because it is, it is a thing to be revered. I rejoice in failure, because in our weakness we find our need for one another, and recognize our need for a Savior.