Last week my wife and I were cruising the Gulf of Mexico. We left on Thursday afternoon and returned on Monday morning. The water was very choppy and the ship that we were on rocked back and forth. Fortunately, none of us were very sick, but there were a number of people who were not able to get out of their cabins because they were so ill. Along with that there were some mechanical problems with the ship and it was not as good a cruise as we had expected. Many people who were on the ship for the first time were not happy and some may never take another cruise.

This was our second cruise and if it had been my first I would have been like those who were disappointed. The first time we had no problems whatsoever and everything was great! I tried to assure those who were first timers that I spoke to that every cruise is not like this one.

There are times in life that things are not as we expect. During some of those moments we make the rashest decisions that effect us, and sometimes those who are around us, for the rest of our lives. If you have a bad experience at a sporting event do you return to another one? If you have a bad experience in your family do you give up? If you have a bad experience at your job do you quit? If you have a bad experience at church do you quit attending? If you have a bad experience with a good friend do you disown that friend, never speak to them again?

The answer to some of these is may be “yes”. The answer to some is “no”. We are good at judging on first appearances and miss out on some wonderful things because of this. If at first you don’t succeed, don’t give up, give it another try. You may find that something awaits you that is beyond description.

Telling others about Jesus is the most important thing any of us will ever do. If you failed the first time you tried, try again, and again, and again. The next time you try may mean the difference between heaven and hell for someone you love. Don’t give up.