Falling

I have a question for us today - how long does it take to fall? Answer: Not long at all! While on vacation, I missed that the roadway had a rather uneven spot because I was too busy taking in the lake, birds, and scenery to notice about a two and one-half inch drop off in the concrete roadway where the concrete had become uneven. You guessed it - I biffed it big time! Down I went and up I popped - sore, skinned up, bruised, but too proud to stay down for long. When we fall, we don't want anyone around us to notice that we fell, right? We want to recover as quickly as possible, so that no one really "sees" that we have fallen. You guessed it - my fall was not only observed - the couple called out asking if I was okay or needed any first aid. Obviously they could see my rather skinned up forearm and the blood beginning to form in droplets within those jagged scrapes. As much as we might want to fall "unnoticed", every fall we take in life is observed by someone - if not one of our fellow human beings, it is seen by our heavenly Father.

So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.  For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’”  Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.  So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. (Romans 14:10-13 NLT)

We ALL fall at times - maybe not in a physical sense, but emotionally, spiritually, and often in ways which wound many parts of our inner man. We are encouraged to not judge each other when we fall, but rather to assist another up if they have fallen, and keep them safe from falling again! Most of our "falls" in life leave us wounded in some fashion - maybe not with skinned up knees and elbows - but wounded in our inner man, spirit, soul, and even our mind. Falling isn't easy - it hurts! No wonder God doesn't want us walking alone - he wants us to be as protected from a fall as possible! Most of the falls in my life could have been avoided if I had observed a couple of factors. Let's see if these might help any of you:

- Don't walk alone. Every instance of isolation in which we choose to walk out our faith alone is an opportunity for the enemy of our soul to make quick prey of us. Hikers don't walk alone because there is safety in numbers. We take our children to the bathroom in public places because there is safety in knowing they are well-cared for in vulnerable times. It is important to remain connected, because our connection with each other may be the first and best protection against falling.

- Don't get distracted. Falls happen because we take our eye off of what is at hand. We get into thinking about what could be if we'd just have or do this or that. We find ourselves captivated in thought of what could have been, but didn't quite work out as it should have in our estimation. We allow our thoughts and attention to drift to things that easily consume our senses - including our common sense! To focus is not easy, but perhaps there is another advantage of never walking alone - what one may not see in their distraction another may warn them about.

- Don't think you are above falling. Pride plays many a nasty trick on us, allowing us to think we are "better than" or "not ever gonna". We somehow place ourselves in a very vulnerable position when we think our falling won't happen - for none of us is above losing our "footing" in this walk. An antidote to pride is humility - and I believe this may be the other reason God gives us each other to walk with in this journey. My accountability partners actually help to hold me to task and keep me grounded when I get to thinking of myself as better than another. 

- Don't think your fall went unnoticed. Every missed step in life is observed - they leave their mark! Those marks live on for a longer time than we may want them to - in the form of emotional, spiritual, and physical scars. We cannot deny there was something "behind" them - for they reveal a moment or season in time when our focus was distracted, our pride dealt us a blow, or our isolation caused us to be "unprotected" in a most vulnerable time. While scars will eventually fade a little, they always leave a tell-tale sign that something happened.

Lastly, I'd have to say that when we do fall, we need to remember God is there to help us get up quickly. He is the one there to brush us off and help to "clean us up". We don't have to do that ourselves, despite our desire to just "manage it" on our own. Just sayin!

Vacation! Yeah!

As you read these words, I am about half-way through my vacation, taking some time to "catch my breath" and renew my spirit.  Each time I have the opportunity to get away for a while, I usually create some kind of "countdown"  calendar or clock.  I am blessed to have a "smart phone", so it has an app for "days until" which I can use for this exact purpose.  It helps me to focus on the time I have until I get to enjoy this much deserved break in the hectic routine of my life.  The "expectation" builds as the count gets below 30, but it builds at a frantic pace once it is under 10 days.  Have you ever noticed just how much the last 3-4 days just drag on???  Why is that?  I think it is kind of like a mother about to give birth - the day is approaching, the expectations are high, the moment of "delivery" is imminent, but the agony of waiting is driving you nuts!  

God, my shepherd!  I don’t need a thing.  You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from.  True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.  (Psalm 23:1-3 MSG)

As you are probably aware, I write these posts about a week in advance.  So, in faith, I am going to describe what it is I am expecting from God as I enjoy this time away - the things I know he will "birth" within as this time is afforded to me.  

* A connection with my Good Shepherd - not just a passing fling with him, but a deep, intimate reconnection with his heart.  As I take time away, one of the main purposes is not only to get away from the constant pressures of everyday life, but to actually get to tap into some special time with Jesus.  Now, this doesn't involve a week of meditation or some really spiritual retreat for me.  Although these are excellent means of connecting with him, I find some time away with a friend just doing stuff like observing the beauty of the things God has created, enjoying a little deep-gut laughter, and taking an afternoon to just snuggle up with a good book are some of the ways he and I connect.  You see, I do connect with him as I observe his handiwork - seeing all the tender care he took to even create the place for the tiniest of seeds to take root in the crags of the rocks.  I also connect with him in the times of renewing laughter between good friends.  Connecting with the heart of another is just one way God gives us to connect with his heart!  Enjoying the peace and quiet of "down-time" is also a way to recharge my resources for the coming months.

* Lush meadows and quiet pools.  Lush meadows speak of the tender places God creates in these times - they are places where I connect with the "freshness" of God's provisions.  Quiet pools speak of the times of just being able to tune into him without interruption.  Now, at first this may not seem like much, but when you go from sun up to sun down, you might just not realize how much you actually are living on the "stale" bread of his provision!  It is in the times of enjoying the "freshness" of what he provides where we come away renewed and refreshed for the journey.  In the quietness of the pools, reflection is possible.  Disturbed waters only lend a distorted reflection at best.  Quiet pools lend a more accurate reflection - revealing much about where it is God is at work!  We need both - the places of fresh provision and the places of accurate revelation!

* Catching my breath.  As I have indicated, we all need times to just "let down" a little and recover from the hectic paces we all keep.  Today's demands will only be outdone by tomorrow's, so every chance to catch one's breath is relished!  Did you ever wonder about the nine months a baby is in the mother's womb "not" breathing?  All of a sudden, this tiny newborn is burst into the world, completely content to "take" without having to expend any energy of its own.  Now, without warning, he has to take in his first breath, and another, and another.  No longer able to "take", he must actually begin to "work" at the living.  I kind of think life is much like that for us all - we have to be about the "work" of living each and every day - almost not noticing any longer how much we are tiring in the process.  The newborn does some great work in those first few hours of life - no wonder he needs to sleep so much!  He needs time to "catch his breath".  My friends - we do, too!  We just don't realize it because we have become accustomed to "doing the work" of living - not even recognizing when our resources are running low.  What does catching one's breath do - it recharges and refuels us.  As a baby rests between his learning activities of new life outside the womb, we also need these "breath catching" times of rest between the "learning activities" of this life we lead.

* Sent in the right direction.  I have been considering a thought for a couple of days now which may not be profound, but I think it is worth sharing.  If we aim at nothing, we will achieve nothing.  Direction is all about aim.  Aim at something and you are likely to at least "graze" it!  Aim at nothing and you will actually hit something, but it may be far from what you wanted to hit!  God gives us times of renewal because we often need to evaluate our "target".  I may never know the thousands who have been touched by this blog, but I know my aim!  There is nothing more fulfilling to the soul, uplifting to the spirit, and renewing to the mind than to be set in the right direction.  

I don't know when your next "break" will come, but when it does, keep these things in mind.  You might just find your "break" becomes a time of refreshing beyond your imagining - preparing you well in advance for the next greatest aim you are to take in life!  Just sayin!