Reason to SMILE #46: Getting Back Up

I fell.

I knew it would happen as soon as I allowed the kids at church to break one of our rules –

Keep your shoes on your feet!

But it was Glow Night and I discovered that my white socks with tiny orange and green dots glowed under the black lights. How could I not take off my shoes?!? And if I had my shoes off, how could I make the kids keep on theirs? So, we all took off our shoes and marveled at our glowing feet!

Of course, as I was later navigating the room lit only by black lights and the glow from the TV screen, I tripped over a pair of shoes hidden by the darkness. (And that, folks, is why we don’t break the rules!)

Smack. I fell flat on my knees. I was fine – well, except for my pride. I ended up having to ask for help in getting back up, though. It was not a great moment for me but after being picked up and put back on my feet, I returned, with extreme caution, to the fun of Glow Night.

In my life, falling is inevitable no matter if the lights are on or off. Because of my muscle disorder, my balance isn’t the greatest. The slightest bump could make me fall and once I’m headed down, there’s really no stopping the descent. I’ve grown accustomed to banged up knees and a bruised hind end. What I can’t seem to get used to is my wounded pride. Knees heal fairly quickly. Pride takes a little longer. But I’ve learned to get back up and just move on. I fell. It’s happened before and it will surely happen again.

The reality is we all fall. The fall may not be physical but we all get pushed down by life at one time or another. Work, family, health, relationships can all push us to our tipping point and send us crashing down to the floor of life. It is inevitable. What really matters is what we do after the fall. Do we wallow in self-pity wondering why we are the ones who got knocked down? Or do we get back up, brush off our pride, learn from our situation and move on?

Yes, sometimes the fall can cause great damage. Sometimes we feel stuck at the bottom, alone and without hope of ever rising. But I’m here to tell you there’s always hope. It’s our wounded pride that keeps us from seeing that hope AND keeps us from asking for help. Getting back up can be difficult and may require assistance from others. That’s ok. Ask for help. Receive that help graciously. Then when you’re back on your feet, offer that same help to someone else who has fallen – they are all around us.

Falling is inevitable. But we weren’t meant to stay down. Get back up. Find your SMILE again. Then share that smile with others!

“We lose our way,
We get back up again
It’s never too late to get back up again,
One day you’re gonna shine again,
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever.”

Get Back Up, TobyMac

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A Year of Smiles – Day 249

Reason to SMILE #249: DETERMINATION

I received a phone call no parent wants to receive.

“Your child is sick. You may need to take him to the ER.”

I left work for the school but I knew my husband could get there faster. He was closer. I called him knowing the potential for disaster that lay ahead. You see, when it comes to our kids, my husband is extremely protective to say the least, and it’s “no holds barred” when the situation is serious.

My husband arrived at the school. Upon entering the school office, he approached the receptionist who happened to be on the phone, “I need to get my son, Alex. Where is he?”

The receptionist responded by holding up her pointer finger in the air to indicate that my husband needed to wait.

Everything went downhill from there.

My husband was not going to wait. His son was in distress and needed medical attention. He was going to find his child and nothing was going to stop him. After several minutes of school staff trying to stop my husband from entering the building without following protocol and some intense exchange of words, my husband finally caught sight of our son and he was able to calm down – at least a little bit.

Both my husband and I received a phone call the next day from the principal. She made her case for following school protocol and reprimanded my husband for his behavior. I let her speak then calmly explained, ” My husband was told his child needed medical attention. Nothing was going stop him from getting to his son.”

There’s a story in the Bible about a man characterized with the same determination displayed by my husband. His name was Bartimaeus and he was blind. The book of Mark tells us that Bartimaeus was sitting along the roadside as Jesus and the disciples were passing by. Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was near so he began to cry out for mercy. The crowds that had gathered and everyone around Bartimaeus tried to silence him but Bartimaeus continued to seek the Savior’s attention. He had a need and nothing was going to stop him from getting to the Son of God. His determination paid off. Jesus healed Bartimaeus and his life was forever changed.

Is there something in your life that needs the Savior’s attention? Do you need comfort, healing, guidance, wisdom, peace, forgiveness? Cry out to Jesus right now.

The devil will try to silence you. He’ll distract you with temporary solutions and quick fixes. He’ll fill your heart with guilt and shame and tell you that you are not worthy of the Savior’s love. He’ll use your friends and family to tell you everything is fine and your need will handle itself. The devil will successfully keep you quiet, if you let him.

Don’t let him.

If you have a need (and we all have a need!), don’t let anything stop you from getting to Jesus. Don’t let anything silence your cries. Muster up all your determination and cry out even louder. Jesus is near and He will answer.

Oh, and I can’t wait to see your SMILE when He does.

 

A Year of Smiles – Day 166

Reason to SMILE #166: WILL POWER

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of WILL.” – Vince Lombardi

If this is true, I am the most successful person I know.  Why is that?

I’m married to WILL!  And as he so proudly proclaims:

“Where there’s a Will (pointing to himself), there’s a way!”

He makes me SMILE every time he says it.  Okay, okay!  I’m really laughing but you can’t laugh without smiling.  It counts. 😉