Falling

Sep 14, 2021

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment."

- St. Paul, Romans 5:3-5

"Our vision is so limited we can hardly imagine a love that does not show itself in protection from suffering… The love of God did not protect His own Son… He will not necessarily protect us -- not from anything it takes to make us like His Son. A lot of hammering and chiseling and purifying by fire will have to go into the process."

- Elisabeth Elliott

Accidents happen! As a parent, whether you're 22 or 62, you've discovered one of life's harder truths -- that is, you cannot prevent bumps and bruises from happening to your son or to your daughter. Try as you might you cannot hold back the flood of boo-boos and owwies and cuts and scratches and hurts and heartbreaks and wounds and disappointments and disasters that will from time to time crash into the lives of your children… or grandchildren. I know… because I've tried!

On Thursday of last week, Candace and I were watching our 2 year old grandson, Fisher, show off his recently acquired climbing skills on this monkey bar gym set. Up and over… up and over he scampered. Scaling that four foot scaffold with ease, he was rightfully quite proud of himself. I was equally impressed with his dexterity, and just as I shouted, "Atta Boy!"...that's when it happened. I mean, in the blink of an eye, quicker than I could move… as he stood on the top rung, a hand slipped, a foot slid… and down he came, arms flailing… and the little guy crashed onto the floor with a thud. With my heart racing, I jumped from my seat. Both Candace and I reached him at the same time. She picked him up… and that's when he looked at Candace, with no crying and no tears, smiled and said, "Hi". The shock itself would've been enough to bring tears to my eyes, but he did not shed a tear as I checked his entire body over for any soreness or pain… as he looked at me and said, "Hi PawPaw."

Every parent, every grandparent, in the world has experienced that! Is there a worse feeling in the world?! I was sure my PawPaw credential would be revoked… I mean, immediately you're thinking about all the worst-case scenarios… what coulda been… and then there's the guilt, Right?! Why wasn't I closer… why wasn't I faster… smarter… wiser… better… safer? Then after the guilt, there's the shame. I'm a terrible grandparent, what was I doing letting him climb on that thing? And after the shame, there's the confession… to Amy… to Tyler. "Somehow, I'm not sure how it happened… but I let your son fall and he hit the floor hard." You go over the whole thing 1000 times in your head. That night, I could not sleep. So I got out of bed and got down on my knees, and I prayed this prayer:

"Dear Jesus,

Thank you for being present when Fisher fell tonight. Thank you so much for not letting any serious harm come to him. But Jesus… I gotta tell you… I can't stand this. I cannot have this happening to my grandchildren, so I'm asking you tonight to not let this ever happen again. Please protect my grandchildren from all harm… from every danger… from disappointment… from disaster… from anything that could hurt them. Please… cause I can't stand it!"

And Jesus said, "No."

I thought about Matthew 19:14, where Jesus scolded his friends for ignoring the children in the crowd, by saying, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them. And then Jesus blessed them." So, I know how Jesus feels about our children.

Then I thought about Jeremiah 29:11, where God Himself said, "I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days, when you pray, I will listen."

So, Jesus reminded me that God has an awesome plan for our grandchildren… and that's when I sensed Him saying that part of that plan includes hurt -- that hard place in life where they will discover that Jesus is their Savior…

That He is present for them when I'm not… that He is powerful for them when I'm weak… that He can provide for them when I cannot. And that, If I cannot catch them when they fall… He can! Yes, I will continue to try my best to protect my children and grandchildren from life's hurts. But there are times when Jesus will allow it, "because we know [problems and trials] help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope does not disappoint." (Romans 5:3-7)

For all the parents and grandparents out there who, like me, are trying to insulate our children from the world and its problems... I leave you with the street wisdom of Alex Cravens...

Don't feel sorry for or fear for your kids because the world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be.

God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they're in. Their life wasn't a coincidence or an accident.

Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God.

Train them up in the authority of His Word.

Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control.

Empower them to know they can change the world.

Don't teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world but hopeful that they can do something about it.

Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God's sovereign plan.

He knew Daniel could handle the lion's den.

He knew David could handle Goliath.

He knew Esther could handle Haman.

He knew Peter could handle persecution.

He knows that your child can handle whatever challenge they face in their life. He created them specifically for it!

Don't be scared for your children, but be honored that God chose YOU to be the generation that is facing the biggest challenges of our lifetime.

Rise up to the challenge.

Raise Daniels, Davids, Esthers, Peters!

God isn't scratching His head wondering what He's going to do with this mess of a world.

He has an army of little warriors that He's raising up to drive back the darkness and make Him known all over the earth.

Don't let your fear steal the greatness God placed in them. I know it's hard to imagine them as anything besides our sweet little babies, and we just want to protect them from anything that could ever be hard on them, but they were born for such a time as this.