Falling Is Not the End

Recently, I was visiting St. James Armenian Church in Watertown, MA, and one of the parishioners handed me a small gift, an Armenian spinning top. The moment I held it in my hand, I was instantly taken back to my childhood.

When I was a child, one of our favorite games was spinning tops. We didn’t have many toys, but that little wooden top was more than enough. We could play with it for hours, winding the string carefully, holding our breath, and then pulling with all our strength. There was excitement in that moment, anticipation, hope. Would it spin this time?

When it landed just right and began to spin smoothly, we felt proud. We felt victorious. But often, it didn’t go perfectly. Sometimes the string slipped. Sometimes the pull was too weak or too strong. Sometimes the top hit the ground the wrong way and fell over immediately.

Here’s what I love most about that memory: no one ever said the top was broken. No one threw it away. We simply picked it up, wrapped the string again, this time a little tighter, a little more carefully, and tried again. Each attempt made us better. We learned patience. We learned timing. We learned balance. Falling wasn’t the end of the game; it was part of the process.

Isn’t that a beautiful picture of how life works? God never promised us a life without falls. He promised us a life with grace, with renewal, with fresh starts. Just because something didn’t work out the first time doesn’t mean it’s over. Just because you fell doesn’t mean you’re finished. You’re not broken. You’re learning.

The prophet Micah expresses this hope with confidence: “Do not rejoice over me, my enemies; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me” (Micah 7:8). Failure is not the final chapter. We rise again, by the faithful hand of God who lifts, restores, and carries us forward.

So, don’t let one fall define your future. Don’t stay on the ground when God is calling you to rise. Pick yourself up with confidence. Wrap your heart again with prayer. Align your spirit with hope. Trust God’s timing. In His hands, every fall becomes the strength behind your next, steadier spin.