#falling

It was April a few years ago and I was staffing the Retirement Committee of the Missouri House. The basement of the Capitol where the hearing rooms are was filled with lawmakers, constituents and lobbyist and the halls were a buzz. The hearing room for our meeting was full with standing room only and an estimated 75- 100 people crammed into the tight room, the smallest of all the hearing rooms. The committee members filled the rounded rows of counters and rolling chairs. My seat was on the top row and as we prepared to start I was in and out of the top row giving the state representatives handouts and summaries that would be needed for the meeting.

A few minutes before it was time to start, a member who was rather massive in girth sat in the end seat making the area that I needed to go through a pretty tight squeeze. I was trying to hurry because I had to get back to my seat to call the roll when the meeting started so I turned sideways and was excited to see that I could get through, I didn’t think about the fact that the five wheeled arms reaching from the swivel bottom of the chair extended slightly past the diameter of the chair. My foot caught in the cut out of the arm, again let me mention that I was moving at a fast speed, and sideways with a wall at my back and a tall chair at my front, it was honestly like I was a plank of wood and fell rigidly splat to the ground sideways. In front of a full plus room. In a dress. The room gasped, in unison, as if the whole thing had been choreographed!

As you can imagine, it was too late to do that whole Step 1- jump up, dust off, hope that no one saw you thing, but it definitely was time for the 2nd step- act like you are not hurt even if you are bleeding profusely, and the 3rd step- hope that someone does something to create a diversion. I tried desperately to get myself squeezed back into my place at the back table and think clearly when the Chair instructed me to call the roll so the meeting could begin. For the next 30 minutes, I tried to keep from making eye contact with anyone and then for the remainder of the 2 hour meeting, I tried to act like nothing happened and hope that my ankle wasn’t broken from the catch and sideways fall. It wasn’t.

We’ve all been there, right?

We’ve fallen and hoped that no one noticed?

There are so many ways to fall. I don’t know about you, but I have fallen about every way there is to fall; literally and figuratively.

Falling is almost always something that you don’t see coming. You are walking right along upright and everything and the next minute your face or your caboose is firmly planted on the ground.

What about the times that we fall figuratively? Maybe in a moral situation? Perhaps in addiction? Possibly in our Christian walk, something that we have given to God and then decide to take it back, sometimes totally unaware until we look up and find that once again we are there again. There- being the place where we said that we would never be, or never be again.

How do you think God looks at us in those moments?

How do you think that Satan wants us to think that God is looking at us?

Trust me, in my falls, it is so obvious that Satan has spotted me there is the muck and the mire and he is poking at me with a long stick laughing at me and trying his best to knock me off balance each time that I try to stand and walk out of the pit. When he speaks, he tells me what a huge disappointment I am and that I have really blown it this time! I must be crazy if I think for a minute that God will take me back this time. And I hate to admit it, but in my spot of failing once again, I half believe him.

But when I come to the realization that I cannot get out of the mud alone, I cry to God and he reaches His hands and pulls me out each and every time. He says the kindest loving words to me and he never scolds me about how many times He has had to come to my rescue from the very same hole and pull me out, He only loves me and celebrates the fact that I have called to Him.

This past Sunday, our pastor spoke on the prodigal son and the celebration that took place when he returned to his home and that his father was watching for him. If you read this story in Luke 15: 11-32, it doesn’t take long at all to realize that the son has been gone for a good long while spending his inheritance, and yet, the father is watching for him to return. Verse 19 of this passage says, “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

I want to encourage you, when you fall- don’t stay there, don’t give Satan time to mess with your mind and convince you that God is done with you. He isn’t.

God celebrates our homecoming with the same love and compassion each time. Remember when you came to Him and asked Him to be your savior? Remember the feeling of acceptance and forgiveness?

He is willing to give that to you each and every time.

Should we do our best to live like Christ and not fall?

Absolutely!

But know this, beyond any shadow of a doubt, His love, acceptance, and forgiveness are consistent.

And when we do fall, He is standing and looking for us even when we are a long way off in the distance.

We may take our eyes off Him, but He never takes His eyes off of us.

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Luke 15: 21-24