Rashida Wright

One thing I don’t mention very often, if at all, is my love for roller skating. I am originally from the Atlanta area, where skating is a normal pastime. I never made it to Cascade or Golden Glide. But you could certainly catch me at Sparkles on the Southside or All American Skating Center in Stone Mountain listening to my favorite jams. I started skating at 4 or 5 when my mom and dad bought me a pair of pink and white Barbie themed roller skates for my birthday. As a girly girl of the 90s, I was totally in love and was super excited to put them on. Back then, at least no one I knew, was investing in fancy skating lessons. You just strapped up your new wheels on your feet and went to town. I really can’t remember how many times I fell or how bad it hurt but I do remember having fun and eventually getting the hang of it. I’ve never been the girl doing all the cool tricks or breaking it down like the skaters in the movie ATL but I was always proud that I could stay up on all 8 wheels, skate around my neighborhood if I needed to, and always move to the beat of the music. 

Even though I enjoyed skating, it took a backseat after I left my teen years. I maybe skated once or twice in my 20s but that was only because I was taking my little sister and cousins to skate during winter break or something like that. It wasn’t until the pandemic years when all the skate content was being pushed out on TikTok and YouTube that I was inspired to get back into roller skating. This was in the earlier months of 2021 when we were all still in our houses, cherishing the outdoor air, slower pace of living, and sanitizing everything in sight. I was in my early 30s and dreaming of upping my roller game. So I ordered two pairs of Moxie skates, one for me and one for my sister. At that time it was extremely hard to get skates because everyone was ordering them! Some places were quoting a month or more to receive them. But, as usual, God came through and mine were at my house in less than two weeks. 

When I received them, it took me a while to actually go out and give them a try. Admittedly, I was afraid of looking stupid or worst of all, falling and hurting myself. But eventually, I worked my way up from skating in my small studio apartment living area to skating in an empty parking garage with smooth concrete surfaces. I skated regularly for about a year and fell my fair share of times but I kept going for a while, enjoying the freedom and simplicity of the wind whipping around my body while listening to some of my favorite songs. But after moving around and moving back home, I stopped skating on a regular basis. Every now and again I would pick up my skates and roll around our subdivision but I didn’t have the same rhythm I had a couple of years back. 

Recently, I went through a pretty painful situation and decided to head to a local park to skate off some of the emotions I was feeling. This park has an outdoor hybrid roller hockey rink/ basketball court that is perfect for doing laps over and over again. I drove to the park, put on my skates, plugged in my earphones, and started rolling. I was nervous in the beginning but after a few laps, I started to relax, getting a little fancy with my footwork. As I kept going, listening to my music and feeling that familiar wind around me, I started to feel more confident, maybe even a little overconfident. I kept circling the rink, each lap feeling a little more comfortable until, bam! I found myself face down on the ground, with my right arm extended and my left arm underneath me to brace the nasty fall. Even though I kept looking down in the beginning, searching for potentially dangerous items that people left behind on the rink, I got too familiar with my surroundings and stopped searching for hazardous items. I got cocky and started practicing my fancier footwork without seeing a small black stopper from a previous skater’s boot, which was the item that ended up taking me down. 

So there I was hugging the plastic ground, arms bracing my fall and sunglasses splayed on the floor, feeling kind of embarrassed since there was a very small audience just outside of the rink. Falling in your mid 30s hits a little different lol, so I laid there for at least a minute, partially embarrassed, but also laughing at myself and wondering how many people actually saw me eat the ground. After I gathered myself mentally, I got back up, dusted my self off, readjusted my ear buds, and kept skating. With even more determination than before, embracing the freedom of flowing on my skates with every additional lap I took (well, except when  I took some moments to rest in between lol). But I didn’t stop going until I was satisfied. 

This experience, as simple and silly as it was, showed me that falling at some point is inevitable. And the scripture that I shared above was what came to mind while I was on the rink. As believers, we will encounter situations where we think we have it under control, where we may get a little cocky, or misread the circumstances before us. But it’s not the falling that dictates the trajectory of our future or the measure of our success. It’s how soon we pick ourselves off the cold hard ground and decide to press on anyway. Living the promised freedom, grace, and love that we have been afforded as those covered in the blood of Jesus truly begins when we decide to rise again and keep doing what we have been designed to do. That type of mindset and action is what determines our quality of life and our success in the kingdom of heaven. 

Today, if you’ve been knocked down, remember, it’s ok to lay there for a moment and reassess your next steps. Heck, you might need a chuckle or two while your down there but remember that He expects of us to get up, dust ourselves off and press forward. Don’t let the fall distract you. Trust that Jesus is with you and will continue to walk (or skate) with you to the next destination. 

Your Turn: When have you taken a tumble (physically, professionally, emotionally etc? Did you laugh? How did you bounce back? 

I would love to hear you sound off in the comments.

Until next time,

Rashida