By Lois Hewitt

Another day…another fall.  I fell outside today.  That’s twice in a couple of months. It doesn’t seem like much but I’m afraid of it turning into a regular occurance.

So the falls themselves haven’t caused much damage.  Thank You God.  Except to my ego.  The problem lies in the predicament of getting back up.

Both times I fell, I was afraid that I was not strong enough to pick myself up.  So today I start working on my balance and strength.  As we get older, this must be a priority. 

Same thing happens in life.  You are going along, thinking you are fine, and you stumble and fall. 

Maybe it was just a trip and you recovered on your own.  Maybe it was a true tumble that leaves you shaken, hurt and afraid.

I may not have physically fallen many times but I have spiritually fallen more times than I care to admit. The pain is immense. You feel alone. It is horrible.

Today when I fell, no one was around so I had to physically figure out how to get back up again.  Believe me I sat there for a while, legs trembling and weak.

When we fall spiritually, we are never alone.  There is always a hand extended to help us back to our feet.  A hand to brush off the dust. And arms to ease the pain.

Every spiritual fall I have ever taken, Jesus was there to help me up.  No matter the severity of my mishap, He has always been there.

Lately I have stumbled with my words. Feeling a disconnect with one of the things I love to do…write.  Every thing I wrote felt like a fall on the gravel.  Unproductive and painful.

So many ways to fall in life.  But if you know Jesus, you have a Rescuer and a Rock to put your trembling feet.

My legs gave out and I struggled to push my body up to standing. It wasnt happening but then I felt the strength in my legs and rise I did.

With Jesus, rising from the ashes is a common theme. We trip and fall, we lose our footing, we crash our bodies onto the ground then Jesus comes and lifts us back up, something we could never do on our own.

No doubt as we get older, we must stay strong physically but we must always stay strong spiritually.  For that is where our true power comes from.

As I tend to my sore legs, I give thanks that I was able to get back up. That I was able to brush myself off. That I was able to continue on my path.

The day is coming when I will fall and there will be no more getting back up.  That is a part of life.  But until that day, I will work on my physical strength and hone my spiritual strength.  For without Jesus, I stuck in the dirt with no hope of getting back up.

Stay strong my friends.  Strength in body and strength in soul.