I'VE FALLEN...BUT I WILL GET UP!

OK, one of life’s funny moments…(funny, ironic – not funny, HA HA)

A week ago Friday, exactly one week after my mom fell, I FELL!

Oh yes, it was a doozy, too.

My sister, her friend, and I were going to the Honda Center in Anaheim (where the Ducks play, for any hockey fans out there) for the Women of Faith two-day conference. We arrived early…8:30 AM…OK, early for me, a known “night owl.”

We parked our car in the lot and joined several thousand women converging on the building (this is no exaggeration – I think attendance was around 9,000 women on Friday).

The “powers that be” came up with a brilliant plan for keeping the traffic under control. They had marked out “lanes” for the cars going into the parking lot using red traffic cones. So, when the parking dictator blew his little whistle, he looked over at the HUGE throng of women waiting to cross the crosswalk, including our little group, and waved us on.

Like a group of milk cows returning to the stables at dusk, we started making our way across the street.

“Hurry up, ladies. C’mon, c’mon. We’ve got cars waiting,” squealed whistle man. (Probably a crossing guard in his regular life – and not one of those nice little people who stands and waves ‘hello’ at the cars driving by…)

So, the three of us are chatting away, and HURRYING, across the street.

It might be important to tell you that I was wearing my cute little pair of Sketchers shoes – you know, the ones that Joe Montana recommends – the ones that are supposed to make your legs work extra-hard, and make your “you-know-what” all perky and toned…

Well, one second I’m yakking – “Oh, I KNOW…I had the same feeling about her last movie…What was she thinking?!...”

When…SPLAT!

One second I’m blathering away, the next I’m flat on the ground – glasses scratched, earrings flying off (clip-ons), jeans torn, tote thrown two feet ahead of me – STUNNED!

It was the weirdest feeling – like my brain’s computer froze – like I needed to reboot it after an electrical outage.

All I knew was that I was on the street…and I was HURT!

My sister said, “Oh my gosh, Sharon! Are you all right?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Can you get up?”

“Not yet.”

When they finally got me over to the curb, I took a body inventory:

Face scratched when I hit the street, a couple of tender spots - but no cuts: (good - no stitches)

No broken nose, no broken teeth: (good - no emergency $$$ trip to the dentist)

No dislocated fingers: (good - I don't have to pass out)

One giant “goose-egg” on my shoulder: (good - nothing broken there)

One large scrape on my forearm, and several on the knuckles of one hand: (good - have to come up with a good backstory - rollerblading, skateboarding, rock climbing...)

So far, so good…

Except when I went down, I fell HARD on my left knee. It was scraped, and quite swollen. Oh man, I thought, what am I gonna do?

Then the COOLEST thing happened. A women rushed over to me – a total stranger. She kneeled down next to me, and said, “I would like to pray for you.”

“I’d really like that,” I replied.

And then this kind, precious Christian woman prayed over me – asking God to bless my time at the conference, saying: “Lord, there is something you want this woman to hear, because Satan tried really hard to keep her from attending today. Bless her, let her hear Your words.”

When she was done, we all said, “Amen.” And then with a final squeeze to my knee (the unhurt one), she was on her way. I won’t see that woman until I reach heaven, but she was an angel in that moment.

And when the medic (yes, they sent a “MEDIC” to fix me up!) was done patching me up, I started hobbling into the stadium.

One of the people from the Honda Center said, “Try to stay on solid ground today, ma’am.”

I turned to her, and with a huge smile on my face, replied, “You know, I really love the Lord. And there’s no more solid ground to stand on than Him!”

Cut to the chase – I’m OK.

I attended both days of the conference, and God DID speak to me.

You know, many things “interrupt” our schedules, many times our plans get “messed up" - sometimes we just trip on a red traffic cone!

But what I learned (again) is the truth of what I told that young woman –

God is my Rock. He is the SOLID Rock. On Him, I stand.

And though I sometimes fall, He is there to pick me up.

All weekend long He whispered in my heart, “Trust Me.”

BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"