Mike Gilland
I don’t have a clue when I first heard the old adage about the importance of “getting back into the saddle.” The context of this old saying includes the implication that one had been on a horse riding until… they fell off!
The wisdom to be gleaned from this story is in the understanding that one needs to quickly get back up on that saddle, overcoming the fear of a repeat fall.
I was always intrigued by this saying, most likely due to the fact that I once fell off a horse myself! Well, more accurately, it was a pony. And I didn’t really fall off—I was bucked off and went flying over the pony’s head and managed to land on the hard Indiana farmland without even breaking a bone.
That was a pretty terrifying experience to my 10-year-old self.
The backstory to this incident: My grandfather owned a lot of property that included a horse barn. While he didn’t own horses himself, he rented out the barn and associated corral to a guy who owned those ponies. That owner allowed me to ride them in exchange for helping to care for them, feeding and brushing these beautiful animals.
I had no idea that ponies can be so given to tempers, but I learned the hard way from this experience. That pony knew exactly how to pitch me off its back and send me flying to the ground.
As I was getting back up, that pony stared me down in a taunting manner the whole time I was dusting myself off.
Whether it was out of sheer stupidity, or fueled by a rock-solid determination, I did indeed get right back on that pony, and continued the ride.
It is funny how such stories from our youth teach us lessons, weaving in truths that will help shape and mold our experiences, all working together to transform us into who we are today. And it is funny that, when I think of my own children and how I would never have let them ride such an ill-tempered steed, I see clearly how grateful I am that I wasn’t hurt, and even laughed off the accident as just another story.
But one truth still calls out to me from that distant memory, reminding me of a well-known Bible verse, Proverbs 24:16:
“…for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”
Don’t let temporary setbacks take you out of the game. Life isn’t always easy, and sometimes it knocks us to our bottoms.
But when it does, we must get back up, stare at the situation in the face, and get on with life.