Today, I had an incident happen in which I was pretty much knocked down. Not literally, but emotionally. It was a very hurtful situation, and done by someone once very close to me. It pretty much had me in a "funk" most of the day, and then I just now read something that has helped me pick myself back up, dust myself off, breathe deeply and smile.
The author was relating life to those punching bags that bounce back after they are punched or knocked down. The key to being able to bounce back is to not do it on your strength, but to allow God to lift you back up.
Life can be tough...even brutal at times. Relationships, events, illness, circumstances, and so on can punch us hard in the gut and before we know it, we've been knocked down....the breath taken out of us. But we need to breathe deeply...inhale God's strength, and allow the Lord to help us bounce back.
When I was reading this article, I thought of an old Bozo punching bag I played with as a kid. I was googling images of the punching bag, when I found the one I posted here, the brand "Everlast". So much more fitting for God's strength than the image of a Bozo punching bag, don't you think?
So...I have decided to visualize this Everlast punching bag the next time I am knocked down by someone or something. And I'm going to smile...because God isn't going to let me stay down. And that is a wonderful feeling!
