Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Anticipating a Fall

Remember last summer when I crashed my bike?

Well, it looks like I’m not capable of getting through a summer without some sort of accident.

This time, though, I saw it coming.

Gary and Dylan and I had just spent some time water skiing and tubing at the river. It was so much fun. We got back to the dock and pulled the boat out of the water. I put something in the back of our vehicle and then I was going to walk over the tongue of the trailer to get to my side.

I don’t even know what happened, but all of a sudden I knew I was falling. My head was on a collision course with the asphalt. Thankfully, time seemed to slow down and I had the presence of mind to turn my head and roll onto my back as I fell.

When I landed, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Our son Dylan watched it all happen, and then he had to try to explain when Gary yelled out, “What’s going on back there?” That made me laugh a little harder, and also scramble to get up before Gary decided to take off with the boat and run me over.

I got in my seat and checked for injuries. A scraped-up shin and sore shoulder seemed to be the only noticeable signs of damage (aside from my bruised pride).

I shudder to think of what could have resulted if I had plowed face-first into the parking lot. Thank goodness I could anticipate the fall and do something to soften the impact.

It got me thinking about life.

Sometimes a situation hits us out of nowhere, with little or no warning (like my bike crash last summer).

Other times, we have a little warning and we can anticipate the fall. We may even have time to do some adjustments to lessen the repercussions of the crisis. If we don’t, we’re being pretty foolish.

We feel a strange sense of attraction to someone other than our spouse? Take action to stay away from that person and do something to strengthen our marriage. Avoid the painful fall of divorce.

We see the credit card bills increase every month? Seek financial counseling to pay off those debts and start saving money instead. Avoid the painful fall of bankruptcy.

We experience heart palpitations and racing thoughts every time we get out of our comfort zone? Talk to a doctor or counselor and learn skills for facing new circumstances. Avoid the painful fall of panic attacks.

We find hopeless thoughts stealing our joy in life and paralyzing us from moving forward? Reach out to a professional who can prescribe medication or provide counseling to get you back to a more hopeful mindset. Avoid the painful fall of depression.

It’s not always possible to avoid disaster, but if we watch for danger, sometimes we can anticipate a fall and do something—anything—to avoid it.

“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.” (Proverbs 22:3 NIV)

Do you change direction when you see danger ahead? How can focusing on God help you to anticipate a fall and do something before it happens?