Growing up, I had always been a high achiever. School came naturally to me, and good grades were something I had become accustomed to. Failure wasn't part of my story or so I thought.

When I applied to study Engineering, I was first placed into a bridging programme. It was there that I experienced my first real academic failure. I failed Physics, and because of that, I had to repeat another year. While my peers moved forward, I felt like my life had been put on hold. I only attended classes during the first semester and spent the second semester waiting for 2020 as I didn't have modules that semester.

In 2020, I finally began my first year as a Civil Engineering student. I was excited and hopeful. Then COVID-19 changed everything. Classes moved online, exams became virtual, and like many students, I had to adapt to a completely new way of learning.

I passed all my first-semester modules except one. It wasn't just any module it was a prerequisite for two important second-semester courses. I remember thinking, *"Not again. I'm already behind."* My friends were now in their third year while I was only beginning my first. Comparison became one of my greatest battles.

Then God opened a door I never expected.

The university introduced something called the **Relaxed Prerequisite Rule**. Because my mark wasn't far below the pass mark, I qualified to continue with the two second-semester modules despite failing the prerequisite. I completed both modules successfully.

That was my first "But God" moment.

The following year, I repeated the prerequisite module.

I failed it again.

I carried on with my studies, determined not to quit. By my third year, I still hadn't passed that same first-year module. To make matters worse, I failed another major module as well.

I remember praying, almost in frustration:

*"God... again?"*

I couldn't understand why this kept happening. I started believing there was something wrong with me. I questioned whether I was intelligent enough. I questioned whether engineering was even the right path for me. I focused so much on one failure that I completely overlooked everything else God had already helped me accomplish.

Then, once again, God made a way.

The institution introduced its very first Winter School. I enrolled in the other module I recently failed once more and, by God's grace, I passed it.

Looking back, I realize God wasn't only helping me pass a module He was teaching me perseverance.

Even so, I entered my final year still carrying that first-year module. Imagine being a final-year student sitting in a classroom with first-year students. At the time, it felt embarrassing. Today, I smile about it because I know that my timeline was never outside of God's hands.

When I registered for that module for the fourth time, I prayed differently.

*"Lord, this time we're finishing this together."*

After four attempts...

I finally passed.

What once felt like my greatest weakness became one of the greatest testimonies of God's faithfulness in my life.

Just when I thought the difficult season was over, I failed another module in my final year. Once again, graduation was delayed.

I questioned God.

Again.

But this delay came with another challenge I had to pay for the module myself. I didn't want to ask my mother for help again. So I prayed a simple prayer:

*"God, I need a job so I can pay for this module."*

A few months later, I was offered a job.

For the first time, I paid my own registration and tuition fees.

That same year, I completed my studies and graduated.

In Namibia, graduating with a job already waiting for you is a blessing many hope for. For me, it was another reminder that God had been writing my story all along.

When I look back now, I don't just see failures.

I see God's faithfulness.

I see doors opening at exactly the right time.

I see strength when I wanted to quit.

I see provision when I had no resources.

Most importantly, I see a God who never abandoned me, even when I questioned Him.

I once believed that my delays meant I was falling behind.

Now I know they were shaping me into someone stronger, more resilient, and more dependent on God.

Sometimes we become so focused on what isn't going right that we miss all the ways God is already working.

If you're in a season where life feels delayed, where you've failed more times than you can count, or where you're questioning whether you're on the right path, don't lose heart.

Your story isn't over.

One day, you'll look back and see what I see now.

Not my failures.

But God.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. ” Romans 8:28 KJV