Falling Forward

Falling forward is still moving forward in life.  I learned something this week about life from my 11 year old son.  We spent spring break together at Keystone in Colorado.  It was my kids first time skiing, so it was quite an adventure.  It only took Luke and John 1 hour on the bunny slope before they were ready to go to the mountain.  We started out on the the green slopes and had a blast.  By afternoon, they were begging for a blue slope, so we went for it.  Half way down, John took a pretty good fall.  He fell forward and slid down the mountain side, leaving his poles, skis, and hat 10 feet behind him.  Thankfully he wasn't hurt.  But John and I both learned something from his fall.

John learned that his confidence had been tested.  The fall really surprised him and he continued his trek down the mountain with less speed and less confidence.  I think John became a better skier after his fall.  Why?  Because, he now knew that he could fall.  Now he skied more intelligently.  Henry Ford once said, "Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."  The next day, we found ourselves on another blue slope called the "Irishman".  It was steeper than any we had faced before, but John handled it in stride and with increased speed and confidence.   John was not skiing more intelligently and successfully.

I learned that falling forward is still moving forward.  John Maxwell once said, "Failure is not fatal.  Only failure to get back up is."  There are many ways to come down a mountain slope, some more graceful than others.  Honestly at my age and skiing ability, "graceful" is probably not the first word that comes to mind when you see me ski, but I can ski pretty much any slope I need to including a black diamond.  But back to John's fall.  John learned to ski more intelligently.  I learned from John's fall that falling forward is moving forward if you are willing to get back up.

This is a very important lesson in life.  We all fall down, either because of our own mistakes or the mistakes of others.  But are you willing to get back up and keep moving forward.  That's why we all need God's help in the equation of life.  If we want to keep moving forward to enjoy a beautiful life, we need forgiveness for the past and strength for today, and hope for the future.  All of these inner qualities we find in Christ Jesus our Lord.  He fills us with the power to forgive ourselves and forgive others, strength to face the struggles which today will bring, and hope for a better tomorrow.

In Christ Jesus, falling forward is still moving forward.  So this week, ask the Lord to help you find success even when you fall down.  Tom Ragsdell