As I get older, there are periodic moments where the temptation to recount life through the eyes watching me through the rear view mirror seem to press in on me.
You know exactly what I mean as you have been there too.
If I am not careful a trip down Regret Boulevard can be suffocating and crippling.
At the very least, it knocks me off balance.
When my guard is down the invitation to walk down the road of What-Was and What-Could-Have-Been overshadows the promise of What-Is and What-Can-Be.
Am I the only one on Solitary Island here or do you experience the same from time to time?
In Rocky V the champ is coming off a stunning victory against his Soviet competitor.
It is in the aftermath of the fight the walls begin to crumble.
The physical release of his effort has him feeling broken inside and experiencing the effects of irreversible head trauma.
In short, he is forced to retire to save his life.
To make matters worse, his deadbeat brother-in-law inadvertently gives power-of-attorney to Rocky’s crooked accountant while Rocky was out of the country.
The result, he loses everything!
His career has been flushed and the money is gone.
It’s like he is hearing the old Beatles song, Yesterday, where “all my troubles seem so far away” as he comes to the realization those same troubles are “here to stay”.
He is down and begins to not only revisit the past in his thoughts, but he takes up residence there too as he moves back to the old neighborhood!
At one point he thinks, “I have no reason to go on.”
In his moment of desperation Rocky takes a trip back in time to the old gym.
He sees himself in the ring through the lens of yesteryear and he is talking with his old trainer, Mick.
I share it here to draw home the point despite the inclusion of one mild profanity.
Buyer beware.
It is a scene of a father talking with a son and the son coming away from the discussion knowing the father will always be with him.
In the same way, it is very much like our Father who declares to us:
“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
Much like Rocky, who knows he is loved despite the weight of his present circumstances, we too can experience a much higher, never ending love when we encounter difficulties.
When life hammers away at us we are told:
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.” Romans 5: 3-5 (NLT)
It is the Father whispering in our ears when we are down, for whatever reason:
“Take it. It is like an angel on your shoulder. If you ever get to the point where you feel like you are going down, this little angel is going to whisper in your ear “Get Up”.…because Mickey (your Father) loves you!”
I have been down.
You have too.
GET UP – “The fight ain’t over until we hear the bell and we ain’t heard it yet”.
Stay in the ring and keep on swinging – today is a new day!