Repost: We Fall Down

This week I decided to re-post a mini-series I wrote in 2010.  Look for more in the days ahead...

Last week Les uttered a prophetic statement. We had just finished a ride on Las Llayas. We had made great time going downhill. He said, "You know, one of these days one of us is going down on this."

Uh oh... Yeah, that was me yesterday. We had done our ride to the "Y" together. Les had continued on. I had turned around. Less than half a mile from the "Y" I hit a patch of sand, going faster than I should have been. You cannot brake in the sand. Before I knew what was happening, I was out of control, going faster, and heading for a tree! Before I hit the tree, I went up a small embankment that slowed me down.



Whew!

I stood there, checking my bike and my legs. Minor scratches on my legs, but no blood gushing anywhere. I was okay, just a bit shaken up.

Hmm... what to do now?

I knew it would be 30-40 minutes before Les was back to the "Y". So I got back on my bike, went down the two miles to the cattle crossing and turned around and went back up to the "Y".

I got back up.


Bro. Weeks preached an amazing message at our church Sunday night. His title - "What Nickname Would the Church Give You?" His text was Acts 4:36, "And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,"

If I asked you about Joses, you might have to think a while. But Barnabas (Joses' nickname) is known for many things in the New Testament church. He is the one who reached out to Saul after his conversion while others were afraid of him. He ministered in Antioch and later traveled on some of Paul's missionary journeys.

We are all known for something. In can be positive or negative. But we are known for it. Church gossip? Preserver of unity? Prayer Warrior or Tale Barer? Quitter or Fighter?

As I was thinking of my fall and Bro. Weeks' message, I thought of the song by Bob Carlisle, "We Fall Down."

We Fall Down

We fall down, we get up
We fall down, we get up
We fall down, we get up
And the saints are just the sinners
Who fall down and get up

It's not a matter of IF we will fall, but what we do WHEN we fall. Proverbs 24:26 says, "For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief."
Fall down, but don't stay there!

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Author unknown

I finished this post last night and scheduled it to post today. Then I received this quote in my daily email from Runner's World that I had to add:

"A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else." - Steve Prefontaine, American middle and long-distance runner