By Dr. Sheila Schuller Coleman
When children are learning to walk, to ride a bike, or to skate, they frequently fall, but they always get back up and try again. Children seem to have a resilience that we as adults sometimes lose because of life's "falls."
Recently, my husband Jim and I were visiting in Arrowhead, a California mountain resort where there is an Olympic ice-skating training facility. One day we went in, sat on a bench next to the ice, and just watched. I was amazed at the intrepid skaters of all ages— tiny little ones that looked to be no older than five years of age up to lanky teens. The girls twirled while the boys skated furiously.
Falls happened constantly, regardless of skating style, age, or gender. The glint of a skate as it hit the ice, hurled a skater into a twirl and soaring into the air...the skater sometimes landing gracefully, but just as often landing on a hip with a hard thud.
Not one of the young skaters ever cried. They always, always, always got back up, brushed off the ice, and courageously pushed off to try again.
What propelled these young athletic artists? Love of the sport and the dream of achieving a championship. Falling was simply part of getting where they wanted to be. It was an essential aspect of reaching their goal.
It has been a year of bumps and bruises. Setbacks have happened to all of us. None of us have been immune to the challenges that beset us. It's not been easy to get up day after day and keep on going, to push off again knowing we have as much chance of falling like a klutz as we do of landing a double Lutz.
Take a lesson from these young champions-in-the-making. Have you fallen? God has a hand out to help you get back on your feet. He is there to lift you up. He wants to pick you up and give you the courage to try again, to learn from your mistakes and soar—to be the star he created you to be. Let God's love lift you up over and over again. Push into your goal, your dream, your God-given destiny. God will never let you down!
