We Fall Down!

I fell the other day, which isn’t unusual for me, but I was all alone and I fell HARD! There were people within earshot but I didn't call out to them, and even though everything I was carrying crashed to the floor no one seemed to hear the commotion. So, I just lay there for a moment, one shoe on and one off, pain searing through my knee and arm and feeling a little bit embarrassed. I mean, really!  Who falls off the very last step and nearly breaks their neck?  Me!  After I got my pride in check, I slowly began to lift myself up so that I could limp my way on to my destination.  I left most of what I was carrying on the floor, because at that moment, it wasn’t important so I gathered only what I needed. Anything else would have been extra weight that I couldn’t handle.

My friend, in life, we all fall—HARD! And often we are either in too much pain, or we’re too embarrassed to cry out for help. What is important is that when you fall, you don’t stay there!  Get back up, brush yourself off and limp, crawl or hobble your way on to your destination.

The next day, I had plenty of proof that I had been hurt.  I had a bruised, swollen knee, swollen ankle and my pinkie toe hurt like a dickens!  Did I mention that there were spikes on my shoes and one dug deep into my foot?  Falling, failure, fights, almost always leave evidence that we’ve encountered them, whether it’s a visible scar or not, the reminder is surely there.

I want you to know that in every situation, God sees you, He’s there to help you and He will heal the pain.  All we have to do is ask Him.  When I fell, I didn’t call out for help but when I got to my destination, I sent a message to my husband and an armor bearer and they brought me what I needed and cleaned the mess of the fall.  That’s what God wants to do for you…leave the brokenness, pain, and misfortune of your failure behind.  Leave it for Him, He’ll not only clean it up, but He will also clean you up!  Rejoice in the moment, don’t lay there like the old lady in the commercial and say, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”  Do like I did, when my husband came to my rescue, I leaned on him for the rest of the day.  You can lean on God for the rest of your days.  Lean, my friend…”We fall down, but we get up!”

Philippians 3:13-14—Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended it, but this one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Necessary Confrontation

When I first saw this picture I was amazed by the transformation.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  At a point, I tipped the scale at 258! I can’t believe I just typed that.  I’ve shared before that I never struggled with my weight until after I had children; I developed thyroid disease and metabolic issues after my second baby.

As I was looking at how much I’ve changed I couldn’t believe the “me” that I used to be.  “I don’t remember being this fat, I look so sad” is all I could say. My mother’s response was, “But you were still pretty.”  I started thinking…why didn’t my husband, my mother or my friends say anything to me about how much weight I had gained, and why didn’t they insist that I go back to the doctor?

While I recognize that no one could make me go to the doctor, I was curious as to why no one said to me...  “Enough is enough!” It struck me--we do the same thing as Christians. We can clearly see someone going down a path that isn’t good for them, yet fear, intimidation and the possibility of alienation prevents us from being truthful with those we love…that niece whose clothes have become a little too revealing, the nephew who has become distant, your son or daughter whose grades are slipping.  What about our friends and loved ones whose lives seem to be spinning out of control and the only thing we seem to be able to say is “you’re still pretty.” 

I understand that my mom didn’t want me to be self-conscious and become even more depressed but the bigger I got, the sicker I became—heart issues, knee pain, and host of other things that were cured in the first 15 pounds I lost.  It’s good for us to encourage others and quietly pray for them but the scripture tells us that sometimes confrontation is good.  Take a look at 2 Timothy 3:16—“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…”  As believers, we have a responsibility to help those we see going astray in a loving and kind way.

How much further along in my trek to healthier living could I have been if someone had confronted me in love and said—“Ok, enough is enough…let’s get to a doctor and find the real problem?”  I want to encourage you to reach out to someone for whom you have been praying.  It just may be the “shot in the arm” they need.

Today’s Prayer:

Father in Heaven, thank you for those around me, now who help me keep “short accounts” with You, so that I am able to stay on the path that You have predestined just for me.  I pray that You will give me the wisdom, insight and loving hand that I need to help guide someone to the path that you have for them.  Remind me daily that “words fitly spoken are like apples of gold in pictures of silver. (Prov. 25:11) 

In Jesus’ name, Amen.