Slip

About two years ago, me and my Mom were shopping at Ross, when a storm hit the town and rain came down, bombarding the parking lot til it was about 3 inches deep in water. With hard droplets still running from the sky, me and Mom ran out of Ross to the classy, black Pilot waiting for us at the front of the store. Now, remember, I was running... in the rain... on the sidewalk. "Don't slip!" she said. And just as I said "I won't!".... out from under me came my feet, slipping on the wet concrete and falling hard. My black and blue basketball shorts were soaked. And after that fall, those shorts weren't all that was black and blue. I thought I had my footing. I was running, sure of myself and focused on my destination - the warm Honda Pilot. I was totally unprepared for that fall. I barely noticed my feet lose their grip in those shoes. And all the sudden, out of nowhere, I was utterly let down by my own confidence in my ability to tangle with the weather and smile at the same time. A group of people were coming in as we were going out, and I'm sure they were laughing at me, though I didn't hear anybody snickering in the background. The sensations from the fall and the cold and wetness was all around me. I cannot to this day explain how I lost my footing so easily... I mean, I can usually at least catch myself!





That's not the only kind of slipping I'm familiar with. There are days when I'm on cloud 9, with nothing to search for because I feel I've already found it. Totally at peace with God and content to stay in His presence. The next day may come to be unexpectedly hard and with a new battle like I've never experienced before. Sometimes like the only hell that I, as a Christian, will ever see. No matter how a day goes, whether good or bad, I can say it's easy to slip, at times, with little or no effort.
You can be bored, searching the Internet, and suddenly an idea strikes your mind. Without a second thought, you can find yourself in a trap, hovering over images or words that will leave you with big scars. Maybe you can't explain how your fingers got you there... it just happened.
Here's another scenario - something might not go exactly the way you planned it, somebody ruins your plans, and perception leads you to believe, for the first time in your life, that this somebody is out to get you. So the next time they get in your way, that perception kicks in again, and before you know it, you have a bitter, un-named grudge against this person. The next week, your friend says something about getting into a fight with this somebody, and you mention that this somebody sounds like that kind of person who would do that, but get this -- you'll never guess where I saw them the other day......... Just like that, with the slip of the tongue, you've let a monster out.
Maybe you'd be at a buddy's house. They've invited a bunch of friends from high school. There's a flirty girl there. She's cute, kind of annoying at first, but you really warm up to her as the hours go by. She invites you into a room by yourselves.... hey, you're a tough guy, you can handle this. All the sudden she turns Delilah on you, opening her smooth lips in the most seductive way and beckoning you further.... further... and... slip! It is so easy. One weak moment, all of Truth whispering graciously in the back of your mind, in the midst of your heart, warning you, "Don't slip!" while you take the devil's hand, whispering back "I won't". And slip. That's all it takes.
We are to be vigil, ever watching. For our adversary, the devil, walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. It's not hard to slip. It can happen with us scarcely knowing, until we're on the ground, fallen, black and blue. Wounded for life sometimes. And trapped. We must face the shame and look into all the faces that warned us. All the souls that told us to slow down... to not go there... to watch out. Because they've been there. Slipping is not hard. It's almost not even our fault. That's why it's so easy to blame others when we slip up into sin. But if we would have watched, listened, and trusted, we would have never slipped. Our Deliverer is great. But He would rather us stand fast, than see us fall and have to come free us from the snare.

So, today, and every day... for the rest of your life... please don't slip.