We All Fall Down

                     Falling down is part of life.  No one makes it very long without falling.  We don’t want to fall, but we do.  Some falls are harder than others. 

            My son fell today, and it was a hard fall; hard enough to earn a trip to the Emergency Room.  The back of his head needed stitches.  In his case, it was staples.  Apparently the staple method is preferred over the old fashioned needle and thread when there is a lot of hair involved.  They like to leave peoples’ “dos” alone.  I was personally hoping for a free haircut, oh well.  And yes, he is now the “cool kid” in the house because we can all see the staples in the back of his head.  And I am fighting the urge to call him Frankenstein. 

            Much of my son’s confidence throughout the ordeal came from being with me.  As long as he could come to me to hold my hand, ask a question, or look me in the eye, he was brave.  When I asked him if I could leave the ER room to take his brother to the bathroom, his eyes pleaded with me not to go.  We waited.  I understood his need for my presence. 

            As children of God we have incredible access to Him.  All of God’s children have the privilege of calling Him Abba.  And we all need our Abba, Daddy, because all of us fall.  We fall short, far too short.  Only our Abba can lift us up.  We fall into pits full of the muck and mire of sin.  But some never get out.  Some never reach for God. 

            When I was about as old as my daughter is now, I was in need of a new bike.  But when I went with my Father to pick out my new ride, visions of a cute pink and white Strawberry Shortcake themed bicycle died.  I was too tall.  I needed an adult bike.  I was crestfallen.  The blue turquoise colored bicycle that came home with me seemed twenty feet high.  I felt that I would crash and fall every time I got on to ride.  But, my Father reassured me that yes, I could ride it, and that He would be there to make sure I was ok.  So, I agreed.

            I remember the day that we walked the bike over to the empty cement slab at the end of the woods behind our house.  I remember feeling my heart in my throat as I struggled to get up into the bicycle seat.  My feet found the peddles and I started to ride.  I wobbled for a few yards and then, crash.  I hit the pavement.  But, Dad was there.  He wouldn't let me give up.  He coached me through those first few times that I road that towering blue bike.  He did not leave until he knew I could get back up.  He stayed as long as I needed Him.  He couldn't keep me from the fall, but He could encourage me to push past the fear of falling. 

            That day, I found a new friend.  I loved that bike.  I rode it everywhere in that neighborhood, far into my early adult years.  What I feared in the beginning became something that I loved.  Those early falls were overcome and confidence was instilled.

            When we put our full trust in God’s grace, He catches us. There are still bad things in our lives, like falling on cement stairs.  But He is able to keep us from ever falling too far.  Our safety is guaranteed.  We may have a skinned up knee for a little while or end up with a scar that never quite fades away.  But those things are only evidences of healing; reminders that He has done great things.

 There is nothing that can snatch us out of His hand.  My sin cannot bar His steadying hand from securing my soul for eternity. He fell in my place.

 There is not a single sin in all the world that He cannot save us from.  There is not a single experience in all of humanity that would exclude us from Him.  There is no power that can undo what has been done on our behalf.  It is finished.  Never again will He bear my blame.  Once was enough for me, for you.  I am my Beloved’s and He is mine, and He is the lifter of my head.

~Your Fellow Sojourner

My little dare devil.

          Have you not known? Have you not heard?

       The Lord is the everlasting God,

           the Creator of the ends of the earth.

         He does not faint or grow weary;

             his understanding is unsearchable.

       He gives power to the faint,

           and to him who has no might he increases strength.

        Even youths shall faint and be weary,

          and young men shall fall exhausted;

              but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;

          they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

    they shall run and not be weary;

   they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31, ESV