I haven’t always been in a wheelchair. But even when I could walk, it was with an awkward, exaggerated gait. Because of my disability, my legs were weak and wobbly. In fact, I’ve had a lot of experience with falling. Some episodes were a bit humorous. I laughed the time I fell backwards into a laundry basket. I also laughed when I lost my balance and rode on an escalator sitting down. The lady who turned around to help me seemed quite perturbed by my laughter, but sometimes we just have to laugh at ourselves. And then there was the time the wind blew me over! Perhaps the most embarrassing episode occurred in a grocery store where I was shopping alone. I had just gotten my cart when for some unknown reason I found myself on the floor. Helpless, I looked at a gentleman nearby and literally said, “I’m crippled, and I can’t get up.” I wasn’t laughing then, but now it is kind of funny.
On my wedding day, during the lengthy time of taking pictures after the ceremony, my legs suddenly gave out and I plopped down with my wedding gown bunched around me. I sat there, looked up at my loving husband, and said, “Paul, I need you!” He knew from the start what he was getting into. (Well, maybe not everything…) Through our years together, if he saw me struggling, he would say, “If you’re going to fall, fall with grace!” Ha! As if I could control how I fell.
Not all my falls are funny. I’ve had my share of injuries and broken bones. But I appreciate the encouragement found in this Scripture verse:
| The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way, though he fall he will not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand. –Psalm 37:23,24 |
In the Amplified version the last phrase is translated: the Lord is the one who holds his hand and sustains him. This is God’s grace extended to us. So perhaps I can fall with grace!
But this verse is about more than a literal, physical collapse. It’s about our journey through life, specifically our walk of faith. Sometimes in our walk with the Lord, there is an unexpected bump, something that causes us to stumble, blows us over and knocks us down. And there are even times when an old habit or obsession beckons us, and we trip over temptation. Even in those times, God is there loving us, and His grace is there helping us. The fact is that sometimes we mess up, sometimes we fail, and sometimes we fall. The Apostle Paul reminds us that God’s grace is sufficient for us, and he also tells us that we “are never abandoned by God, we get knocked down but we are not destroyed.”–2 Corinthians 4:9(NLT)
The college I attended had a sloping sidewalk that went down from the dorms to the classrooms. This usually wasn’t a problem for me, except one winter day it was. The sidewalk was slick with ice. My feet flew out from under me and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get back on my feet. A strong, rather good looking young man came to my aid. He pulled me up on my feet, but my feet slid out from under me again, and again, and again. Finally, he picked me up and carried me to where I needed to go! This is just what grace does for us! Grace lifts us up and helps us get to where we are supposed to be.
When I fall, I am not falling alone. I am falling with grace. God’s grace is right there with me.
| Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; ’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home. –from the hymn Amazing Grace |
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