Falling with Grace

Apparently, American schools may want to include basic walking skills as part of their physical education curriculum. For two years in a row, Miss USA has slipped and fallen during the evening gown portion of the Miss Universe Pageant. Crystle Stewart from Texas is this year’s falling star. And, while her stride may need a little work, she could teach a class on graceful recoveries.

After the pageant, Miss Stewart had this to say about the incident, “"I"m perfectly fine. I'm going to move back to New York and get on with my life." Crystle is a motivational speaker and teaches a character education class. She plans to use the falling incident as a life lesson for her students, saying, "Sometimes you fall in life, not just in the pageant but financially or emotionally. It's not about the fall but how you pick yourself up."

I love her attitude! She could have sat on the floor crying when she fell…but she didn’t, she got right back up, smiled and marched on. She could have blamed her fall on the person who designed her dress or accused her competitors of a conspiracy. But, she didn’t. She simply explained that she slipped on the beads on her dress, jokingly saying that she needed to take walking classes. Nope, no victim mentality for this Miss USA!

Crystle is absolutely right...an occasional fall in life is inevitable. However, the way we choose to handle these trip-ups is left completely up to us. We can choose to wallow in self pity, blame the world and live life as a victim. Or, we can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get on with life…learning a lesson or two along the way. And, don’t forget to that God’s hand is extended, offering to help you up off the ground. Think about the paralytic man Jesus healed in John 5. Jesus told him “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." And, after 38 years of being floor-bound, he got up and walked.

Are you sitting on the floor today? Pray that God will give you the courage to grab on to His hand, allowing Him to pull you back up and for the strength to smile and move on.