Getting Up

A friend asked me today, "What is success?"  My response was "getting up".  Debbie will think I mean "getting out of bed in the morning", but my answer is so much more than the simple act of will it takes to get oneself out of bed.  Life has a way of knocking us down.  Have you ever watched a baby learning to walk?  They fall, they get up, sometimes they are scared to get up, but sooner or later, they will try again.  The bad bumps and bruises don't come until later, after they have learned to walk.  When they head for the stairs or try to exit a door.  Of course later, there is the bicycle, the skateboard, the motorcycle, the hang gliding and on and on the list goes.  The point is: they get up, they continue to grow, they reach for new experiences.  Do they fall?  Yes.  Do they get hurt? Yes.  Do they get up? Yes! Success is getting up when you fall.  Success is trying again. 

Coy Gnade made the statement that everyone is getting a divorce.  This teenager cries out for security in the home.  The sad truth is the home is the very place we get knocked down the most.  It is the place where we feel the pain most.  It is the place where we have the most trouble getting back up.  It is the place the devil attacks most.  Sometimes it feels as if he can suck the energy right out of our bodies.  The desire to get up is gone.  The strength is gone.  The willingness to face the problem head on is gone.  We fall flat on our face.  We blame the failure on our spouse, our children, our spouse, our finances, our spouse, our church, our spouse, our government, our spouse, our parents and usually...on our spouse!  I always think of Job here, he didn't blame God exactly, but he did say; "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away."  I remember years ago, writing in my journal that life could not be sweeter, brighter... just a few days before I received some of the most devastating news of my life!  I fell from the mountian peak into the abyss.  And I put the blame on every doorstep... except the devils and on sin, right where it belongs. 

My gracious God taught me through the trying times.  He stayed with me.  He lifted me up and he helt me, until the fear was less and I was ready to try to get up, try to walk again.  Through His strength, I became stronger.  As I look over the trying times in my life, I see that God was always there.  He provided exactly what I needed, when I needed it.  I also see that in times of trial, I ran to HIM.  I prayed, I read my Bible, I reached out for God and He was there.  I learned to depend upon Him in my time of need.  I can get up, by the grace of the Almighty God, I can get up, one more time!

I thank God for His love and care for me.  I thank God for each valley and each mountain top.  I believe I will appreciate and enjoy the mountain tops more than ever I could . . . because of the valleys.