I
discovered there’s a right way to get back up once you’ve been down. I never
thought about trying to get up from the floor with a fake knee and a severe
arthritic knee on the other side. It can
be a problem weeks after surgery. I
needed a good plan.
The Story of My Life
My
physical therapist asked me how I get up when I’m on the floor. I quickly replied: “I never allow myself to get down on the
floor.”
He
ignored my smart answer and told me he would show me how to get down on the
floor and gracefully get back up.
He
spread the sheet from the exam table on the floor and drew a chair close and demonstrated
slipping off the chair to the floor and then pulling up back up onto the chair. I have strong arms so I followed his lead on
the first try.
Sometimes in life we end up on
our bottoms and we have to deal with it.
“Now
I feel better knowing you know how to get back up should you find yourself on
the floor,” he said.
There’s a Lesson in That Session
It
would be foolish of me to think I’ll never get down in life. No matter how good I might try to be, mistakes and poor choices happen. I can never say: “I will not allow myself to get down.”
I
think of the story that Jesus told in John, Chapter four, of the Samaritan
Woman. I’ve always liked her. Her outspokenness caught my attention when
she addressed Jesus and challenged him.
No way will she fill up his bucket with water; after all, Jews didn’t
frequent those parts in Sychar. What was
he doing there anyway talking yet to a woman?
His
response stops me in my tracks. “If only
you knew, woman, that I have the ability to offer you living water and the well
never runs dry.”
I
always smile when he then names all the lovers of her past and the failed
relationship she currently had. He
didn’t condemn her; that’s not why he came.
He offered a better way to live. I
explode with joy at her new found freedom and visualize her dancing in the
streets causing quite a ruckus.
“Come
and see the man who told me everything I ever did. Wait till you see this guy,” she told her
friends.
This
outcast of a woman was down and out but Jesus set her free and she couldn’t
keep it to herself! The neat thing is,
he still does it today!
How
do you get up when you’re down?
I absolutely love this! As for myself, I try to keep a positive outlook and to stay calm, as I find that this gives me the best advantage at making the right decision in practically any situation. If I panic or get negative, I often don't see the obvious, as in an easy and good solution.
ReplyDeleteI'm going through a challenging time right now and I'm finding myself more down than up . I also realize that I need to pick myself up and not stay down. I'm trying to take it one day at a time leaning on Jesus and fixing my eyes on him and trying to dwell on him and not circumstances.
ReplyDeleteI find myself physically on the floor more these days with a 19 month grandson. It is a struggle sometimes getting up, but it is getting better the more I do it :)
betty
Hi Mary! What a great therapist! I think that we often don't believe we'll be down on the carpet, but when it happens, will we be ready? And now, you will be. I bet you felt better too.
ReplyDeleteLike Betty, getting down on the floor to play 'babies' with my granddaughters can be a struggle. I'm certainly not graceful anymore getting up from there. I'm glad you can be!
We just studied the passage of the Woman at the Well. What wonderful lessons there are in this one little bible passage. I read that this is the longest discussion recorded in the bible between Jesus and anyone else. And it's a woman who gets that honor. Love that!
Hope you'll have a wonderful week,
Ceil
The best thing for me when I get down is to look at what I am grateful for from God.
ReplyDeleteJust dropping by to drop a warm hello, prayer and to be blessed by your faith. It's nice that your PT is covering all that you need to know/learn. At the same time, liked your analogy. I feel a sense of "courage" for your answer that you would never allow yourself to fall down. I'm positive, only a heart that is showered with His grace and a heart that tasted His goodness has the guts (always) to utter such statements. Sadly, us, sinners, tend to fall back sometimes if we chooses to (weak knee) though "reborn" (the new knee). But thanks be to God! Nothing like a "faith lift" to rescue us when we fall into despair. Surely, I won't stop saying thanks be to God for His arm is always quick to reach out and save!!! Physically, I will hold on to something to help me slowly get up from a fall. Spiritually, after so many episodes of falling down, I know better now to give my hand to that Right Arm. For no other can save me! Like that woman, accepted by Jesus, may we also never stop talking about God's grace and love. I pray that your new knee continues to be healed and be strengthened and may you always stay strong in God's mighty power. To walk more miles as you share your journey whether here in this blog world or with those around you. I know you walk the "talk"...Hugs and love to you sister Mary. Now, off to doing chores :)
ReplyDeleteGreat analogy dear Mary. Speaking physically, girl, getting down ain't the problem but getting up sure is. WOW, this getting old ain't for sissy's. LOL! I have arthritisin left knee and though it's not bad, it is just enough to cause that OUCH at times. Getting back up spiritually can be a challenge for us at times. Especially if we do not stay in the Word of God and for me, I must be with the children of God. Those that can help to lift me back up when I am down. I just this today. Hugs and blessings, Cindy
ReplyDeleteI love this post, Mary. What optimism! Even little record player in my head's begun playing Sinatra's "High Hopes" .... remember?
ReplyDeleteWow - what a great lesson you got from a therapy lesson. Yes - there is a great way to get up when we are down!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing analogy! Bless your heart, I am so sorry you are "walking through" such a difficult time...pun intended, to make you smile! Sending much love to you today and praying for you!!
ReplyDeleteLoved your post, Mary. I'm probably facing a knee replacement in the near future. I guess I thought I'd stay young forever! Beautiful thoughts here.
ReplyDeleteUsually, the medical people wish to see whether the patient can get up without holding on to something. This is ,of course, achieved very gradually, over a period of ime.
ReplyDeleteNice story , the one with Jesus and the Woman at the well; good analogy too.
I have been away from blogland the past months, and it was only this week that I got the chunk of time needed to polish up my post rough drafts and finally publish them. And I am happy to be visiting some of my blog neighbors as well. This is a good post, May. Your therapist is a sensitive one... he knows that you need to know how to get back up (just in case you find yourself on the floor). And I love how you end your post with the story of the Samaritan woman. Jesus is still the well of healing for us today, the well that never runs dry. Shalom, my dear friend. Praying for complete healing and full recovery for you.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the typographical error in the comment above. I misspelled your name, Mary, and noticed it only after I had already pushed the publish button. Sorry about that.
ReplyDeleteI know of the way your doctor showed you how to get up should you end up on the floor. It is the same way that I get up if I have been sitting on the floor. But even more I love the way you have taken that and the example of the Samaritan womanat the well with Jesus and applied it to the session you had with your doctor. How do I get back up when I'm down? Reading God's Word. :) xx
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't your answer to your PT surprise me?
ReplyDeleteI like the analogy of being down. Physically or spiritually, we all get a turn down there. For me our Father is the only answer to all of our problems or ills. "Draw nigh unto Him and He will draw nigh unto you." Live my life by that.
Hope you're getting better. I know there's no quit in you!
Your ending with the Samaritan woman is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteKisses and greetings from Poland.
Lucja