"Fall"

The ground so low and far below,

The saddle where I sat,

I said whoa and he thought go,

What do you think of that.

A gentle horse I thought of course,

Who broke so fast in two,

I wondered then if he was kin, 

To saddle broncs I knew.

Air born high and my best try,

In motion as I clawed,

A stirrup gone it was not long,

My gentle mount outlawed.

Up so far it was bizarre,

To fly in such a way,

But gravity is strong, you see,

And wins out every day.

And so I fell with ne’er a yell,

So silently to earth,

The hardest shock as any rock,

Since mom to me gave birth.

With broken bones and several loans,

The lessons that I learned,

Are just as real, had years to feel, 

They were the hard way earned.

Bulletproof just ain’t the truth,

And if you think you are,

They’ll come a fall I’m telling y’all,

To learn, or no cigar.

Attention pay and let is stay,

On what you have to do,

Because surprise in spite of tries,

Can take it all from you.

And just one more to know the score,

When you saddle up and go,

The counterfeits you’d best admit,

You’re better off to know.

“Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18, NLT)

God will always resist the proud. Why? Because He wants us to humble ourselves and receive His grace. If one is arrogant they run the risk of destruction. Egotistical seeds bring a harvest of drama and damage. Persistent haughtiness is a sure sign that a fall is on the way. Before my dramatic horseback fall I had never really been hurt while riding. It’s one thing to be confident and quite another to somehow think it’s always the other guy who’s going to be bucked off. The old cowboy saying is still true: “Never a horse that can’t be rode, never a cowboy that can’t be throwed.” it is not wise to think otherwise.

Lord, help us humble ourselves, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Tyler Crow, used by permission. Thanks, Tyler, and God bless you.