Rise Up

Peach Says:

One of the most important skills we learn in life, takes us through learning to walk, until the day we leave this earth. Our youngest grandson is 10 months and learning how to pull himself up on anything and everything. Then, he will drop and crawl to his next desired spot and do it again. He is learning strength and a bit of balance, and a lot of stamina and determination. He wants to be UP.

This lesson continues in various forms through childhood and into teen years, young adulthood. Children learn to ride bikes, which involves a few falls (or in my case many) (true story, the neighborhood kids and teens helped me learn and the oldest joked we needed to post a sign that said ‘Peach’s Ditch‘).

Teens try new styles, new relationships, new academic, or even professional goals. They try various sports, various positions in sports, music, the arts. They tackle driving. They succeed, they fail, they flourish, they fall.

Young adults decide once or twice or even thrice what schooling will help them get to their ‘next’. They decide to pursue military, sports, travel, or get married!

Young adults get married, try to navigate the merging and making of one life from two, where to have family holidays, when to start a family, how to handle debt and expenses, where to live, rent or buy.

It continues on. We all fall down. But, we ALL must GET BACK UP. We may not always feel like it. Sometimes in life, our ‘Giddy-Up-and-Go’ ‘Got-Up-and-Went’. How rude! 😉

When we learn to walk, we learn all about falling down, and maneuvering ourselves back-up again, over and over and over. Our grandson, like most all young toddlers, is so happily persistent in his endeavors to rise up

As we get older, it’s harder, sometimes, to be happily persistent in our rising up! Especially, because we might be tired of making the same mistake (think of yo-yo dieting, repeat pattern relationship issues, debt cycles, etc). We might also get pushed down by people or health, or just life in general.

Many people today are prayerfully hoping the ‘Rona doesn’t leave them pushed down, hoping for a mere wobble and then quick recovery, or, who knows? Maybe even a miraculous take off, soaring above the circumstances, through a series of grace-filled events that don’t always line up so perfectly, but once in while, they DO!

Sometimes heartaches, sometimes work or career related issues, maybe legal issues, the falling can come in a variety of ways. Sometimes we do it, or a stranger, or a loved one might, or the simply unexpected, life dressed as a pandemic.

Nonetheless, we were made for the upright position, to rise up, dust ourselves off, look up, move forward! Everything in the Bible tells us that the majority of our faith walk will be forward and upward.

There’s times we can only stand. And having done all to stand. (Ephesians 6.) We stand until it’s time, once again, to take those steps forward, as the Holy Spirit shows us it’s time. And like the Israelites at the flood stage Jordan river, first we step and THEN the waters part.

Paul said, “I don’t depend upon my own strength to accomplish this; however I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead.” — Philippians 3:13, The Passion Translation. I LOVE how he continues on, on his letter to the Body of Christ in Philippi, “I PRESS toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” KJV. And The Passion Translation says it this way: “I run straight for the divine invitation for reaching the Heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus.”

I think there are times it’s harder than others to rise up. But, the reward seems to be proportionally sweeter as we heave our selves upward.

King David was betrayed by family and then friends. He had a son who was determined and crafty, and shameless. He played the whisper game. The game of politics. He worked to bring division to the Kingdom and to bring people to his side. He was determined to steal the Kingdom from his father because of an old wound unhealed. (Bitterness is a powerful poison in our lives, that we should always work diligently to uproot. Apply the weed killer of forgiveness, humility and then bitterness can’t stick around!)

King David was hurt, humiliated and tired. When I say humiliated, I mean before the whole Nation. He had to flee. Someone followed and threw rocks at one point. His son made a big show of sleeping with his concubines pretty much making a public display, (which couldn’t have happened if he didn’t have CONCUBINES! Just a thought).

He eventually won back his Kingdom, through the help of loyal family, soldiers, and citizens. In the process he lost his son.

He grieved so hard, for his wayward son, that his general had to tell him, that if he didn’t get up and show gratitude to the people who kicked out the enemy, and won back the Kingdom, that all would be lost, as in that very night! The people NEEDED to see that he was happier and more appreciative of all they risked and accomplished for him, than he was sad at the loss of his son, who had taken a very wicked turn, which caused much hurt to a lot of people.

King David rose up. He rose to the occasion. Once more. After a lifetime of rising and running to the battle. His heart was broken. YET. He showed regal leadership, (though I doubt he felt like it), and he made glad the hearts of his people, and did the necessary diplomacy, to unite the country once again. (2 Samuel 19).

Eventually, this would result in him having a thriving, prosperous Kingdom to turn over, in the right way, at the right time, for his son Solomon. Reward.

Nothing good ever came from staying down, rolling around in the broken pieces of life. We simply are not made for it.

I know it can be so tiresome, but, it does begin to feel good again, once we get a little momentum, once we can see the horizon a bit. And who knows what beautiful things the Lord has in store for us!

1 Corinthians 2:9.

I’ve had my own fall down this week. And though it has caused a good amount of heartache, I’m here to say, it’s ok! God is SO faithful! We are not left without His love, and in my case that comes in my Batman and our sons and their ladies, and our dear, dear grandkids! And there’s more family we are blessed with besides! So much joy! 🤗 I can choose to trust the Lord to work out whatever way He seems best, in what I have no control over, and I can choose to be fully present and appreciative of the family I have. I get to choose that. And with the grace of the Lord I DO! Not in my own wisdom or strength, but I can do ALL things through Christ Who gives me strength.

I only share this to let you know, in case you have fallen, in case your head and your heart are perhaps hurting, also, you CAN do this! Put your hand in His, tell Him how you feel, and what you fear, and go forward!! He has plans for you, but you can’t see them while you are down!

He heals you in the journey forward.

Don’t be fooled into waiting to heal and then thinking you will move forward.

“And that, knowing the time, that now IT IS HIGH TIME TO WAKE OUT OF SLEEP: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” — Romans 13:11-12

Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t share that Batman uses a great saying about this topic, which I love! I am hoping he will tell us about his thoughts on it soon!

Rise and shine, Y’all, rise and shine!

Thank you so much for the visit!! Drop us a note so we know you were here!!

May your week be filled with good surprises, straight from Heaven!

Peach!