Get Back Up

One of the hardest things as a parent, in my opinion, is watching your child fall. Whether it is when they are learning to walk or ride a bike or play a sport, it's so difficult to see them stumble and fall, and even more difficult if that fall causes them to experience injury. It's just plain old tough to see your kid hit the ground.

My oldest son Matt had more than his share of tumbles when he was a little guy ... we didn't discover until he was around seven or eight years old that he had a serious vision problem. I'll never forget that day, never ever. It was during a baseball game, and I was very frustrated that Matt couldn't catch or hit the ball. In the car on the way home, I said, "Honey, you just have to keep your eye on the ball." My eyes welled with tears when my little boy replied, "Mom, I can't see the ball." I will also never forget the day he got his glasses ... we walked outside and he said, "Mom, look at the clouds; they're puffy. And look at the leaves on this tree; they have lines on them." I know ... I deserve some sort of plaque or something for being the absolute worst mom ever. To this day, Matt teases me from time to time that he's lucky he didn't walk in front of a bus or fall in a well during his early years.

One thing I distinctly remember from the various spills my three children took down through the years was what I would say to them as I helped them up, brushed them off and encouraged them to give it another shot. "You're OK ... get back up and try again. You can do this ... I know you can."

A couple of weeks ago, a friend emailed me the link to a song by Toby Mac called "Get Back Up" ... a great song with an awesome message. It spoke to me so much that I bought the album on iTunes and put it on my iPod, and I've listened to it a lot. It's as if the words of the song were written for me ... "Wide awake in the middle of your nightmare. You saw it comin' but it hit you outta nowhere. And there's always scars when you fall that far. We lose our way, we get back up again; it's never too late to get back up again."

Here's the thing about getting back up when you've fallen. It's hard to get back on your feet by yourself if you've landed flat on your back, if you've been hit so hard that you've had the wind knocked out of you, if you're wounded and bleeding. Just like my kids needed me to help them up, brush them off and encourage them to try again, I need my heavenly Father to help me get back up again ... to say, "You're OK, Terrie ... get back up and try again. You can do this ... I know you can."

It's never too late to get back up again ... if I just grab hold of Your outstretched hand, Lord ... it's never too late.