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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Finding Grace in Getting Up

I fall down...a lot.  
Seemingly, I fall the most when I'm trying hardest not to...Like during Lent.
Time after time, I {almost} get discouraged by my wounded pride and almost miss the point.
The lesson is never in the fall but about getting up...
In getting up, God's unlimited supply of mercy and grace await, often carrying us to miraculous new heights with Him.
Hope rises again.
After all, this is why we celebrate Calvary, 
Where Jesus Christ, God Incarnate,
redeemed the world.
He carried the Cross, falling three times,
crucified, that we might have life...
A second chance...  
Grace to get up again,
time after time.
One of our parish deacons told me a story of how he recently fell down. (Literally)
He has had a very bad knee for a lengthy amount of years and could hardly walk without his cane.  He thought the fall had "done him in."  Much to his surprise, the fall actually jarred something in his bad knee (that had locked it up for so many years), knocking it loose again. 
Getting up, he realized that he could miraculously walk, jump, (and he says) run again, with renewed flexibility!  
What a perfect example and analogy for our faith walk...
+Amazing things happen when we get back up+
I also read a story about a monk who was asked by a curious seeker what one does all day long in a monastery.  The old monk gently replied: "We fall and get up, We fall and get up, We fall and get up."
Inspiring!
These have been good lessons for me not to get too bound up in the fall.
We all fall down but what do we do with our getting up?
Seeking reconciliation and forgiveness sets us free, lest we forget that God's mercy and grace are boundless.
Easier said than done but always worth a try...Sometimes, again and again.

We are just about half way to Calvary at this point in our Lenten journey...Yes, I've fallen a long the way.
Back on my feet and pressing forward, I'm finding grace in getting up again.
+I pray you do, too.+

5 comments:

  1. What a beautiful post Tiffany, as usual. I've recently started going to daily Mass again...haven't done it every day since before kiddos--my husband is going into work a little later and letting me go in the morning. I feel like this post, like I"m getting up. (but I have far to go)

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  2. Amen to this, Tiffany! This is a hard lesson for me to learn. How many times do I first turn to despair and not God? Thankfully God is merciful and each fall and getting up brings me closer to Him.

    God bless!

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  3. I actually fall down a lot. Like really fall- I have the worst depth perception. When I saw your post in my feed (that first line caught my eye), my first thought was "oh, me too!!" :). But really, me too. I like that "to not get too bound up in the fall". Wow. Thanks, as always, for your inspiration.

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  4. Beautiful post, Tiffany & just what I needed! It seems I've fallen so many times this Lent. Each time I fall it's harder to get up but I do. "We fall and get up, We fall and get up, We fall and get up." - thanks for sharing that story. A dear priest shared something similar to that with me a while back and I try not to forget it. Everyone struggles or falls, it's the getting back up that's important. :)

    May God bless you & keep you going the rest of Lent. <><

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