We are warned about the danger of falls all the time. TV commercials paint vivid pictures of the consequences. These messages are particularly aimed at older adults, and though perhaps meant to be helpful, tend to spread fear.

One day as I watched my toddler grandson playing, I noticed him repeatedly walking, falling down, and getting back up. I remembered that when my own children were young, their father would laugh and say that they were made of rubber—they’d fall down and instantly bounce back up! This got me thinking about the fact that when children fall, the expectation is that they can get up again—which they typically do, running off to continue playing. It doesn’t occur to them to do otherwise.

So, isn’t the real issue our expectation? Are we expecting that every moment we have what we need to express all good from our loving creator, our Father-Mother God—that the way we are made includes being perfectly equipped, having all we need to ceaselessly and safely express Him? The fact is that as God’s reflection we include the eternal qualities of divine Life, such as endurance, flexibility, durability, dexterity, stability, and soundness. These spiritual qualities don’t have an expiration date.