The one thing I thoroughly enjoy is me-time. Don’t get me wrong, I love hanging out every now and then, but, those who know me, know that I’d rather choose a book or movie with a stash of chocolate on any given day.

Yesterday was different – granted it was New Year’s Day, but I also needed to prove a point 

My very dear friends, invited me to spend time with their families. It was a perfect day. The weather was just the right amount of sunshine and blue sky. The conversational topics were varied and flowed effortlessly. The food was so good and as a result “operation clean eating” (topic for another day) was moved out by a few more days.

And of course, the highlight was observing the boundless energy of the kids who after being sun-kissed for hours were far from tired almost 10 hours later. I swear those kids could easily be a brand ambassador for an energy drink.

So, there was one thing that caught my attention for most of the day – a beach ball. Yes, a simple, blue and white beach ball. It wasn’t the writing/branding on it, but the versatility and resilience that it possessed.

I watched with keen interest how this ball bounced all over – in the pool, on the lawn, up in the air, landing in the palm of someone’s hand… and even with the knocks, falls and floating, it remained intact. I’m sure you get the picture.

When I got home last night, I continued to think about this ball and how similar it is to our lives.
Our journey finds us moving to different places.
Our journey finds us crashing/falling and then having to stand up.
Our journey finds us in situations where we feel out of our depth.
Our journey finds us feeling like we are walking on air (overly ecstatic when breakthroughs arise).
Our journey finds us securely in the palm of the Master’s hand.
Our journey finds us bouncing back from time and time again when our hope and trust and faith are in the One who created us.

But… more than anything, like the ball, we cannot really understand the intricacies of what makes it bounce back, except for the person who created it.

The same goes for our lives (personal stories).

Until you’ve walked an inch of a mile in someone’s shoes, you don’t know their story. You don’t know the price that was paid. You don’t know the sacrifices made, losses incurred and lessons learned. So until you take the time to speak to someone and listen to their story, we should refrain from pointing fingers, making assertions or being a typical judge Judy.

Instead let’s commit to walking in love; always ready to catch someone who is about to fall.

And just like that ball, I hope we always find ourselves inflated with His grace and love to keep moving in purpose. That no matter where we land, we bounce back and land steady on our feet… always ready to take another step!