We’re at the skating rink. Lonny and the boys take the ice, and I take a seat.
I watch the older guys glide around. Even Gabriel tackles the great loop, moving like a robot. A mechanical skating little boy.
But Isaiah struggles, even with a metal support. Though he’s a fast streak on roller skates, ice skating is a different thing. He falls. Picks himself up. Then his legs go out from under him.
When he tries again, he’s moving like a newborn colt. Wobbly. Unsure of his legs. I look to see where Lonny is, but he’s across the rink, tying Gabriel’s skate. And sure enough, Isaiah goes down once more.
He’s not down for long, though, because Logan comes along.
I watch as the oldest brother lifts the youngest brother. He coaxes him away from the support stand. Takes him by the hand. Slows his own pace to hobble-skate beside him. And for the rest of the afternoon, he’s there-skating by Isaiah’s side. Forever helping. Guiding. Reaching out and catching when his brother falls.
This loving and lifting is a beautiful thing.
We can all relate to falling. Times when our legs seem to slide out from under us. When our footing gives way, and it seems like we’ve smacked hard ground. When things don’t go as we’ve planned. Sometimes there’s injustice, and the fall can bruise the tender flesh of one’s soul.
I love to think of Joseph in the Bible (Genesis 37, 39-50). Here’s a man who knew about taking a fall. He was thrown to the bottom of a pit. He fell from a prestigious position at Potiphar’s to the depths of a jail. He was dropped from the cupbearer’s memory when he hoped to breathe beyond bars.
But God was faithfully with him.
The Lord was fully present. Enabling Joseph to prosper. Showing him kindness. Granting him success. Giving him favor. Stretching into the circumstance.
He had a plan and He blessed Joseph in the fallen places.
He lifted Joseph up.
It brings me hope and peace to know that when we fall, the Lord is with us, too. He will, with grace and compassion, lift us. Not always in our timing. Or in our way. But He has a plan and He is merciful.
He’s the faithful lifter of our souls.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:10
The boys whirl around the rink for an hour or more. My youngest and my smallest boy stick close to one another. When they move past the spectator seats, Isaiah’s grin shines bright.
He may still fall, but he’s free from fear.
He knows he’ll be loved and lifted.
