Falling On A Walk.

I try to go walking every morning with Theresa Lange, the missionary's wife. It seems to me that 5:45 AM comes around a little too early, but I dutifully stumble out of my darkened room and try to look presentable in meeting the morning. One friend called it discipline; I laughed and told her it was accountability:). Given the choice, my bed (and sleep!) would win out every time, but I find that the day gets too warm so 6 AM really is the ideal time to go walking. Plus it's a great way to spend some time with Theresa:).

This morning Theresa's son, Jon, came along with us. He's come before, but normally uses his little scooter. This time the scooter was deemed unusable - it kinda helps to be able to turn it! - so Jon walked instead. We tend to walk a little fast, so Jon had to do this skip/hop/jog thing to keep up... personally I think he was enjoying having all those options:).

As we neared the development, Jon suddenly fell flat down. After checking for blood (nothing!) and bruises (none!), Jon bounced back up and we continued on. Later in the walk it happened again, and as Theresa helped him up, she was explaining why he needs to watch where he was going. Whether she knowingly did it or not, she managed to work a spiritual principle into the conversation:

"We need to watch out for the rough spots and take heed lest we fall."

Because I just had the concept visually demonstrated in front of me, I had a pretty good idea what 1 Corinthians 10:12 was talking about. Jon falling down brought tears both times. He was so sure that he had really hurt himself, and sniffled his way down the road with us.

I thought about how I fall in my spiritual walk; how I miss the rough spots for a myriad of reasons. When I fall, I sometimes wonder how it happened. The Lord tenderly picks me back up, encourages me with His Word, and reminds me to "take heed" and learn from the fall.

I'm so glad I got up for a walk this morning... sometimes the Lord uses everyday occurrences to teach me!