Jump For Joy!

Have you noticed when God is sending you a symbolic meaning that signals He’s looking at your life and wanted you to see a deeper meaning than what appears on the surface? If you use whatever senses available to you, you will notice them; they are not coincidentally timed or placed! This happened to me recently, accompanied by some good childhood memories of bouncing on a mini-trampoline.

My parents bought a little jumper primarily for them to exercise with, and of course it became a hit for me and the young kids who used it. It had a circle of springs connected to a steel frame, and eventually some springs weakened, broke, and disconnected from the stretchy mat and/or the frame. Here’s where the symbolism enters in: think of yourself living life jumping in the middle of the circle, and the springs are the people surrounding you, applying different energies and forces. It’s kind of like your own little circle of life.

When you begin, you intentionally raise the lowest parts of yourself higher atop the bouncer; you depart the known, solid ground on faith. The downward motion is similar to your human frailities felt when gravity returns you to earth away from your highest potential peak. Then when you go down the hardest, soon enough you shoot higher than you ever did before. Here’s a bunch of questions to think about: Who are the Godly people surrounding your circle, and do they lift you higher than you could make yourself jump - on flat ground without them - when life’s at it’s lowest point? What actions do you take to be higher, like raising your mind to God in prayer or mercifully loving your neighbor as Jesus has loved you?

There are COUNTLESS examples in the New Testament of times Jesus changed the crowds by whom He was surrounded. Sometimes the people were hard of heart and didn’t want to hear His message.

What sinful choices do you repeat in your life causing a fall from grace? There’s only one letter difference between REPENT and REPEAT!

Think about your broken neighbors whom you contact directly. Have you reached out to them in their brokenness? Don’t discount your own strong abilities to lift up other people whom you surround on their circles.

Here are some closing thoughts to which you might relate. Are you a broken spring in need of repair, barely attached to a solid frame? Think of the broken body of Jesus hanging on the cross. His earthly life was finished, but now His eucharistic presence remains behind and miracles occur daily! Thank you Jesus for loving the broken springs too!

Let us send a little prayer to God: Please God pour out your abundant graces on us to bounce back when we fall and encircle us with a strong community of believers to lift us closer to you, Amen!