Even when we wobble, we do not fall down forever

The music minister led the choir and congregation in the hymn “Blessed Assurance,” and to our collective surprise, we the people belted out the anthem much bigger than our troubled hearts could have imagined. 

The pastor illustrated the tempests of life, calling attention to the devastation and the despair we can easily fall prey to because of the unfolding events in our country and world and the wild raging weather stories too awful to recount. 

We sat attentive, mindful of that week’s tragedies. It is true. We can find ourselves tossed about and if we are not careful, we can metaphorically either snap in the wind or be swept away. The solutions are deep roots and firm anchors. 

The allusions to water and the human choice to snap or be washed away sent my thoughts to my boyhood days, summertime, and a motel pool. 

I paddled in the shallow end, cordoned off from the “big kids” by a blue rope with blue and white striped buoy balls. All us “little kids” longed for the eventual graduation from the shallow end to the deep end, and Mom assured me I would be there in no time. 

To adults, the time frame “in no time” is multipurpose and reflects the short period between preparing, practicing, drilling, trying, and finally being ready. Short period to adults can vary from a few minutes to a few months. Time is relative, after all, and I really did heed my mom’s encouragement as I watched my older brother and sisters in the big pool. Then came the moment when my brother jumped from the diving board to cries of admiration, and I thought to myself, “I can do that.” 

I moved quickly after making up my mind. Out of the pool, I trotted to the deep end, climbed onto the diving board, and called out to everyone in general, “Watch this!” as I bounced and then plunged into the water, just like Eddie had done. The crowd, however, did not react in the same way. 

This event became a story of my childhood that has been told and retold over the years with different intents: a cautionary tale, a description of my character, the effects of a stout heart…and the incredible athleticism and quick-witted reaction of my dad. 

Here’s the short story: As I yelled to the crowd and then jumped into the water, my mom shouted in horror, my siblings stared in disbelief, and my dad jumped up from his lounger and ran to where I was bobbing, leaving a trail of clothes, wallet, sunglasses, and shoes as he sprinted and then dived into the drink to save his son from his own foibles. 

Although Bible stories of David fuel my imagination and the words of Paul deepen my understanding of Christian living, I have to admit that I can identify with the accounts of Peter. 

Peter journeyed from fisherman to fisher of men. His life showed impressive ups and amazing downs. When Jesus asked His apostles who He is, Peter boldly declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). In the courtyard following Jesus’s arrest, Peter denied that he even knew Jesus. This Jesus follower walked on water in imitation of his Master. He witnessed Jesus’s resurrection. He emerged as a restored leader after the Holy Spirit came upon him. His very human life mirrors my and your struggles as we teeter between faith and failure. 

Peter exhibits resilience throughout his adult life, and stories about him remind us that we can stumble, but by the power of the living Lord, we do not have to fall. Looking fully into the face of Jesus and acknowledging Him as Savior is redemption. 

In his epistle, Peter pens: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (I Peter 5:10). Reading accounts of his life, I know that Peter writes the words from personal experience. He offers assurance because he has known the sureness of God’s love and forgiveness. 

My mind jumps here to another memory of childhood— go with me. 

The “Weeble World” had a snappy commercial jingle about those figures’ ability to stand upright. Memorably, it went: “Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down.” 

From its beginning in 1971, Playskool’s Weebles playsets captured the imagination of children (and adults) everywhere with their innovative egg-shaped people with painted smiles on their faces and bright colored outfits on their sturdy wooden bodies. Over the next decade, the brand grew to include playsets with a tree house, a haunted house, a western set, a circus, a camper, the Magic Kingdom, and beyond. Toddlers with chubby hands easily moved the Weebles and although they wobbled, they did not fall down. 

I cannot say whether the playsets or the commercial jingle is the primary reason they occupy a soft spot in my recollections. But as I contemplate Peter and his amazing ability to be knocked down and yet bounce back up, I think of those Weebles and ponder the ability of all of us to be resilient. 

We can face trials and setbacks, failures and sins, and let those moments define us. Or we can turn toward our God in the midst of those tempests and find forgiveness, succor, and a new beginning. There is a blessed assurance, when Jesus is ours, that when we wobble, we do not fall forever. 

Written by  Jim  Edminson, Editor of Charity & Children