{"id":3278,"date":"2012-11-14T07:40:39","date_gmt":"2012-11-14T12:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=3278"},"modified":"2012-11-14T07:40:39","modified_gmt":"2012-11-14T12:40:39","slug":"falling-off-my-horse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/11\/falling-off-my-horse.html","title":{"rendered":"Falling off my horse"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In all of our lives, we suffer the embarrassment and shame of falling from our horse. \u00a0You know what I mean. \u00a0Sitting high and straight on our noble steeds, we are riding along our path of life, attempting to serve the Lord and believing that we are choosing His will and way. \u00a0When\u00a0blam<\/strong>! We are struck by a blinding light and find ourselves in the middle of a road eating dust.<\/p>\n

Few of us hear an actual voice as Paul did; but most of us understand that voice in our spirit that demands an answer,\u00a0Why are you acting this way?<\/em>\u2026or\u00a0going there?<\/em>\u2026or\u00a0speaking in those tone?<\/em>\u2026or\u00a0feeling this resentment and anger?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Perhaps it is the acidic taste of dirt or the humility of finding ourselves in the middle of life\u2019s road unable to stand but suddenly our relationship with the Lord becomes clear. \u00a0In that instant, we know beyond any academic knowledge that our lives will never be the same. In fact, from that moment, the greatest prayer of our hearts is that our lives will never be the same.<\/p>\n

If we are fortunate, God will renew that moment of humility and surrender every day. \u00a0Yet, I find that I am never very far from the falling point. \u00a0Billy Graham once said that he had found that three things trip up men and women of God. \u00a0Money, sex and pride.<\/p>\n

His explained that he formed a corporation to take care of the money. \u00a0He kept his relationship with his wife current and did not form intimate friendships or allow himself to be alone with other women to take care of the sexual area. \u00a0Then laughing, he said, \u201cI find that when I\u2019m even slightly connected to God, He takes care of the pride area.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This leads me to believe that Graham is intimately familiar with the taste of dirt. \u00a0I am praying that the Lord will allow me to see these tragic falls as times of learning and release. \u00a0We are told that babies and drunks don\u2019t often hurt themselves when they fall because they don\u2019t tense with the fall. \u00a0They are able to relax.<\/p>\n

\u201cLearning to Fall\u201d should be a primer course we teach in the church because all of us experience the stench and sourness of defeat. \u00a0I\u2019m grateful that the Lord doesn\u2019t leave us alone during the dirty times of life but He is there. \u00a0Teaching, correcting and loving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In all of our lives, we suffer the embarrassment and shame of falling from our horse. \u00a0You know what I mean. \u00a0Sitting high and straight on our noble steeds, we are riding along our path of life, attempting to serve the Lord and believing that we are choosing His will and way. \u00a0When\u00a0blam! We are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[581,5,20,3,397,40,186,49,16,8,4,41],"tags":[690,21,688,696,7,584,699,583,715,701,694,689,57,724,582,6,687,700],"class_list":["post-3278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-billy-graham","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-devotions","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-church","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-failure","tag-faith","tag-falling","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-prayer","tag-redemption","tag-rev-billy-graham","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-simple-truths","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nFalling off my horse - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Falling off my horse - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In all of our lives, we suffer the embarrassment and shame of falling from our horse. \u00a0You know what I mean. \u00a0Sitting high and straight on our noble steeds, we are riding along our path of life, attempting to serve the Lord and believing that we are choosing His will and way. \u00a0When\u00a0blam! We are…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/11\/falling-off-my-horse.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-11-14T12:40:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/11\/riding-a-horse.jpg?w=510\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. 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