It was fast. My perspective quickly transformed from the uneven terrain of my running path to the speckled grains of dirt, rocks, and weeds. It had been a while since I had experienced this sensation.
I slid. It was as if my body was cataloging all of its injuries as quickly as they occurred: the palms, the right knee, the left knee, the elbow. Piece by piece they encountered the dirt until my face was parallel to the ground. The phrase “rub some dirt in it” quickly popped into my head as I felt it seep into the fresh cuts of my skin. I knew I had fallen. This was my wake up call.
It had been happening all day. From the beginning of my shift at work when I spilled all of the sale cloths and merchandise in front of the store entrance, to flinging coins at customers and dropping dollar bills on the ground for lack of hand-eye coordination, things were falling. I only had to stare at a pile of recycled cardboard my coworker made into a “sculpture” and it immediately fell apart. Ruined.
But I wasn’t going to let this pull me down. I had a wonderful night’s rest and was eagerly anticipating recovery from my recent cold so I could live life again. I wanted to run, to socialize, to feel the sun, and this “falling” epidemic was not going to stand in my way.
It wasn’t until I reached the end of my run today that I realized what was happening:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” – John 12:24
This verse has recently become one of my favorite Bible verses of all time because it reminds me that I cannot do it alone. Life is too hard to fight when you are standing by yourself against the enemy. You may survive, but you will be forever alone, with no one to share the victories and failures.
Falling is painful, and at times is exactly what we need. Falling humbles us and reminds us that we are human. Falling brings us back to the foot of the cross.
At the end of the day, I was reminded of this verse, and now I can thank God for all the things to fall in my future.
