Fallings

Fall – to move downward rapidly under the force of gravity without control.

Proverbs 24:16 – “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in time of disaster and collapse.”

Our family lived in a cute little bungalow down in the country. None of the homes had basements because the water tables were too high. All the houses, however, had attics. I recall seeing a huge doorway in the ceiling in the hallway at our house. And at the end of that doorway was little rope dangling. When you pulled the rope down, that massive doorway opened and transformed into wooden stairs where one could unfold and climb. In the mind of a child, I often wondered how those stairs stayed up without crashing down on us. This was mind-blowing to me.

We knew the attic was off limits, but Daddy made the mistake of telling us one day that he hid our Christmas presents up there. So, one day during the holidays, my brother and I went snooping around looking for our presents while our parents were at work.

It happened quickly. I don’t remember stepping backward. All I remember is I lay at the bottom of the stairs looking up at that big hole in the ceiling. I fell eight feet, bouncing off those wooden stairs on the way down, and then hitting that unforgiving hard wood floor; the floors my mom had to have. “Ouch. That hurt,” I said. My brother looked down at me from that big hole at the top and asked, “You alright? Daddy’s gonna kill us if you’re not.” I feared my Daddy’s whipping more than the fall.

Here’s how the accident happened. There was no rail built around the perimeter of the opening in the attic that would have prevented a misstep. I stepped backward and down I went. Should Daddy have told us not to go upstairs? I don’t think he ever thought about it. As far as he was concerned, there was no way we could reach the rope to pull those heavy stairs downward. But we were clever and smarter than Daddy. My brother used the highchair to grab the rope to pull down and unfold those steps. We then entered a mysterious place where we had never been before.

LORD, HOW MANY TIMES do you tell us to do or not to do something and we do it our way anyway? How many times have we thought that we were smarter than You?

I was able to drag my aching body to the bedroom I shared with my sister and climbed up on my bed. That’s where I stayed for the rest of the day. I survived the fall without any fractures or broken bones, but I was sore as heck that next week.

A few years later, I fell from the attic again. I don’t even recall what lured me back up there, but after the second fall and was I still alive on this side – no more. There was nothing that important I needed to know or see up there. How many times do we go snooping, nosing, gossiping, or meddling in places where a person “ain’t got no business” being? Thank you IAG Farms for that quote.

I have fallen many times in one area or another after that. What I learned from my personal fallings is this – as hard as the hurt of the falls were, I got back up again. You may not have personal fights within or outside yourself to overcome, but I certainly do. Holy Spirit, my teacher and guide who lives inside of me, constantly reminds me of who I am to Him. I am valuable and so are you.

My personal fallings, Lord Jesus and the fact that I am still alive, teaches me about your grace. I could have died and would be lost forever without You.