Never Failing Support

"I won't let you fall".

These were the last words my dad said to me... before I FELL OFF my bike. I was five years old, probably weighed all of 30lbs, and was supposed to learn to ride bike sans training wheels on a ridiculously heavy classic Schwinn handed down from my older cousin. (Which was not as cool as the pink Huffy at the local hardware store that I really wanted).

Why is this memory so deeply planted in my brain?
1. I was wearing my FAVORITE black leggings (with stirrups!) and they got a hole in the            knee when I fell.  Devastating.
2. My dad, the person I trusted most in the world, had failed me.
Now that I am a parent myself, and have unintentionally failed my own children time and again, I do have a greater appreciation for my dad being unable to catch the bike as it toppled!

Given this little window into my past, you can probably also find the light humor in the fact that the line that stands out to me in our collect this week is "O Lord, you never fail to support". There have been PLENTY of moments in my life where I certainly thought my Lord had failed to support me. Or, he had at minimum, neglected to keep me in his "continual protection and providence".

I think that this morning it is worth asking if God has failed me. Has he withheld support? Has he neglected to grab me before the bike topples and I hit the ground?

If you know even the basics of learning to ride a bike, it probably comes as no surprise that my skinned knees, are what eventually led to my success in riding that super heavy (non-pink) Schwinn.  Hard things (like bleeding knees from repeated contact with bumpy asphalt) do not equate failure. My repeated struggle with sin can feel like hitting the bumpy road over and over.  This feeling is not however indicative of God failing me or neglecting to hold me close. Instead---in His providence and steadfast love, he is actually training me for the future day when I fully understand living life in the righteousness of Christ.  Since Christ has already died for my repeated sins, I'm guaranteed not to fail. I'm not left to wonder if I'll ever learn to ride the bike. Which means that I can in absolute certainty declare " O Lord, you NEVER FAIL to support and govern those whom you bring up in your steadfast love and fear".