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I am a pastor and a clinical psychotherapist. My life's passion is defining healthiness from a human perspective and paralleling it to the holiness of God, divine perspective. Shifting perspectives creates a paradigm that is alongside of rather than over and against. The parakalein of God and the paradoxes of humanity are redefined. Humanity is all about winning and yet we are losing ground everywhere. Divinity is all about letting go of the desire to win and the fear of loss. The Divine embraces the world with loving care regardless of anything.

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Stumbling but never falling

Posted by Don Paine

This weekend I was out for a walk and began to stumble and caught myself before falling down.

Three thoughts gripped me:
1) Thank you God for helping me to catch myself
2) I thought of my friend who has ALS, who walked a 3 mile walk for ALS in NY a few weeks ago surrendered by friends like my wife and I who walked with him.  Several times as he stepped down along the course he nearly stumbled but God strengthened his internal courage and he did it without falling.
3) I thought of a promise in God's Word to all people:  Psalm 37:23 "Though he stumble he will not fall down for the Lord upholds him with his hand".  

No matter what happens in your life:  natural disasters, unnatural disasters, difficult days, untimely and horrific death, this passages says to all that even though these things may cause us to stumble, falter and even fail, God is always there to catch us in our falling, and in our failing.  I picture God catching us in our hopeless and helpless states.  Catching us like I recall catching one of my children and just wrapping him up in my arms where he felt safe, loved, and cared for.  Not rescued but strengthened to believe in the power of the holding of love.

I believe this is the sacred space where you and I are in the "arms of God's love".  Whether you know it or feel it or not, it is true.  God is there for you.

When i was a child I fell head first onto a cement floor.  God id not prevent me from falling.  I did not die.  I could have.  I believe God is there with loving arms always.  Whether to rescue me from death or to welcome me to eternal life, God is and was there!  Arms of love are like that.  Always there.

I am glad God rescued me to life that day.

The one thing that is always true is the Arms of Love are there.  In life and death, arms of love keep us from falling into the hell of despair where there is no love.

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