Get. Back. Up.

My big brother was tough.  He was a fighter.  A very good fighter.  Very quick on his feet with a power packing punch, he had the speed of a quarter horse, and the endurance and determination of a thoroughbred.  As the “little sister” he was always very protective of me and taught me how to defend and take up for myself.  He helped me perfect a mean left hook and on an almost daily basis he would let me “trade punches” with him.  One day he told me “sis you got that punch down pretty good”…then he swiftly pushed me down pretty hard.  Shocked, with my eyes fixed on him and my lip quivering in confusion as I stumbled to the ground he looked at me and said “well…get up!!”  The second I got to my feet he pushed me to the ground again.  After about ten times and me standing there in tears he said to me “sis, that punch does you no good if you’re up against someone who can get up every time, you have got to be able to get back up if you take a hit.”  I cannot help but apply this theory to the “hits” we all face in our day to day lives.  The past couple of weeks I have taken some hits…nothing too big or bad, but I am thanking God for the ability to get back up and swing.  No matter what you’re facing, no matter how hard you get knocked down, we must never forget the power in the punch we are packing and get back up!

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4 NIV)