The Rise & Fall

I was visiting a friend's daughter today in the hospital. She's in a small psych unit that's basically for addicts in a holding pattern waiting for a coveted spot in a rehabilitation program. Such programs, too few, understaffed, underfunded are forever having to turn away the "ready-to-recover."
 My heart broke listening to this beautiful girl describe her last fall from grace. She had been working hard, she said, on her "list." A list CPS had developed as the conditions for her to regain custody of her 9 month baby boy. She was happily checking the requirements off on the list, turning her life around for her son, when she hit the brick wall - a requirement that she attend and "graduate" from a certain rehabilitation program, which program had as its requirement a permanent residence. But even if the homeless girl could solve that dilemma, she was informed the waiting list for entry was at least six months out. "I thought, what's the use?" she said, "Might as well get high."

But I was looking at a girl who had fallen, again and again. And as tired as my friend was of picking up the pieces of her daughter's life, as tired as the girl was of trying, only to fail over and over, and after umpteen years as tired as so many hearts may be of praying for her, NONE OF US CAN GIVE UP. Hope must reign, and that means getting up again, and again, and again. Fall, get up.., fall, get up,.. fall, get up.

The journey out of homosexuality is similar. The "might as well ..have a drink, get high, have sex, or fill in the addiction here," mentality is a killer, a never-ending cycle, seemingly. But no matter how many "might as well" falls, you can get up again.

For those who believe in Christ, His example is clear on the Way of the Cross. In reality He fell numerous times, beaten, bruised, bloody the weight of the cross crushing Him.

The number of falls recorded by the Gospel writers is three. For the Jews numbers held deep spiritual meaning. The number three represents that which is solid and real, substantial, complete and entire. It seems somehow the focus of the writers was on His fall, but the Good News is not in His fall. The Good News is He got up again, and again, and again. As many times as it took til He reached Calvary. In His humanity, Jesus could not control the fall, or the soldier's whips, or the taunting crowd, BUT he could control His will to rise after each and every fall. And He did it for us!

It is our will to rise that matters most, not how many times we fail. Here's wishing you a happy Resurection and the will to rise.