By Katy Mariotti
He’s Waiting With Open Arms
You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.
“For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.”
Proverbs 24:16 English Standard Version
My son who is seven has been asking for a skateboard for a long time. Santa finally brought him one for Christmas this year. Not long after Christmas, we took him to a skate park, and my son, being the daredevil that he is, wanted to immediately go down a big ramp. We told him that he couldn’t do the big one, so he went to the top of the smallest ramp that was there. Having barely skateboarded before, he, of course, immediately fell off the board and scraped/bruised his hip. He did not want to stay at the skate park, and we didn’t make him that day.
But we did tell him he needed to go back. If he likes skateboarding, we didn’t want that fear to control him. We discussed how it would be wiser in the future to take smaller steps. Start practicing skills on flat ground, and move to the ramps when you feel you’re ready. At first he didn’t mention the skate park again, but after a while he started bringing it up, and when we went back he had a much better experience. He still fell a few times, but he got back up again and cheerfully practiced, getting better and better at balance and turning. He didn’t try a ramp again, except to sit on his board and ride down it, which I think teaches him about how the momentum picks up as you go down hill!
The verse from Proverbs talks about falling and rising again. When you read through the Old Testament and all the woes of the Israelites, they turn away from God SO MANY TIMES. But God loves them, and every time they turn back, He gives them another chance. God wants us to always turn back to Him. To get back up and try again. And every time He will be there. He’s with us when we fall down, even if we don’t realize it, and He’s there to welcome us with open arms when we try again.
Let us keep turning back to Him, and embrace the wisdom and learning that come from our mistakes!
Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
