Station 7
Jesus picks me up when I fall
Something that I often struggle with is how hard I am on myself. I hold myself to high standards in almost everything that I do whether it be work, physical and spiritual goals, or ministry tasks. This has been a theme I’ve noticed throughout most of my youth and young adult life and one that I often bring to Jesus when it comes up again during various parts of my life. Whenever I make a mistake or falter in my goals, my tendency when things go wrong is to look inward first and beat myself up. I get caught up in what I should have done. I tell myself “It must be something that I did wrong. What’s wrong with me?”. In the end, I almost always feel defeated and frustrated with myself.
However, Jesus always has something different to say. Jesus gives me space to be vulnerable and share my emotions about everything. Jesus helps me to zoom out of the situation to look more kindly at myself. He always reassures me that there is nothing I can do that will stop me from receiving His love. Jesus never gives up on me. But at the same time, Jesus helps me to take responsibility for the things that I can control and let go of the things that are not in my control.
One of the ways that experience Jesus’ love and gentle accountability is through my prayer group, Emmaus. My friends embody this love through the space they provide me to share freely about everything, especially my goals and shortcomings. Like Jesus, they do not judge me and embrace me for who I am. They also lovingly call me out sometimes too when I am not living congruently with who Jesus created me to be. It’s in this balance that I find myself learning to be more gentle and patient with myself when I fall and more accountable for what I can control as well.
Dear Jesus, give me the strength to continue to get up when I fall down. Help me to grow in patience towards myself and to remember your unconditional love for me.
“Why do we fall? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up” - Alfred Pennyworth, Batman Begins
JP Vu [Southwest]