"I've fallen and I can't get up"

That commercial played again today for what seems like the thousandth time. The poor lady who utters these memorable words does indeed look pitiful and old but for those who by default have been charged with the responsibility of elder care it is a painful reminder of what life brings to the elderly and to the caregiver. Along with the falls come knots, bruises and bumps, perhaps a bit of embarrassment for the "fallen" or not. Occasionally there's the visage of "raccoon eyes" to attest to the fact that the "fallen" suffered an injury that begs the question, "What in the world happened to you?"; thus the opportunity to tell the story of lapses in judgement and unusual circumstances that caused the fall. There's a twang of guilt that accompanies the story as it may have occurred on "your watch" and is due to a change of venue brought on at your suggestion. Unless confined to a facility, bedridden and restrained, elders are susceptible to falls wherever they are and with a variety of attendees. If, in some obscure way, a finger can be pointed, it is pointed. The old analogy of "finger pointing" comes into play as, "when a finger is pointed, at least three other fingers are pointing back in the general direction of the truly responsible person". The elderly in our society have plenty of folks to point at when love and family is involved. In our mobile lifestyle, elders now have the opportunity to fall at places all over the world. This opportunity opens varied lines of communication between "pointed people" and a plethora of unusual circumstances. There have been 5 "fall" stories in the past week and considering the nature and circumstances, opportunities abound for plenty more falls in the near future.
Falls are usually pretty damaging to the body, perhaps "pretty" is not the proper adjective for a fall as they are usually "ugly" at best. They often involve broken things and messes to be cleaned up for days, months, even years after the fall. The stories include broken hips, broken arms, broken fingers and toes, broken ribs and sometimes a broken nose. When good judgement goes astray, injuries result.
Most of us have a story to tell about a fall with disastrous results and maladies, but there are more serious falls in life. Falls that carry the extra baggage of broken hearts, broken dreams, broken realities and broken spirits, falls that damage the very essence of a person. Sometimes when a person falls, something extraordinary happens to the person. As the old saying goes, it "knocks some sense into his head" and a bit of wisdom is the result. If we "chase after the wind" as the author of Ecclesiastes does in the Bible, we find that there is a "time for everything". The author reminds us that we should "pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!". He tells us, "When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it".
God commands us to love one another. We should come to God with a grateful heart and reach out to others to help them up. Our efforts will be rewarded with a hand up when we fall.