Be a Yoyo

London Bridge is falling down
Falling down, falling down

When the bough breaks the cradle will fall
And down will come baby, cradle and all

Ashes, ashes we all fall down!

Sound familiar? These are nursery rhymes that we’ve heard since we were kids. Some “things” fall and so do people. Natural, nothing to worry about.

But is that our ultimate goal? To fall flat on our faces? For sure – not! Life is a cycle of ups and downs – just like a yoyo.

What happens when a baby starts learning to walk? He holds on to the nearest object, pulls himself up and then – plop! Down he goes. A second later – there he is trying to stand up again.

And once he’s mastered standing, he learns to balance himself on his two feet. Then once again – one step, two steps, plop! In his innocence, he just won’t give up.

Fortunately, baby has people to cheer him on.  Remember how you would sit on the floor with your arms out, slowly inching backwards encouraging baby to take one more step, just one more step? We also have a Father in heaven Who wants us to succeed. But He doesn’t always make it that easy for us.

We all fall down at times. The wise man gets up and tries again, the fool says, “I can’t.”

King Solomon summed it up beautifully in Proverbs 24:16.  He wrote:

“Though the righteous may fall seven times he will rise up again…”

Life certainly presents its challenges; sometimes even setbacks. The wise man is like a yoyo. Even though he may falter and fall, he learns from his mistakes and rises up again.

Be smart. Be a yoyo.