April 3 – Falling into the Arms of God
We must not be afraid of falling, failing or going down, because it is there we find grace. Like water, grace seeks the lowest place and there it pools. Richard Rohr
Gregg’s Reflection
When my spiritual director, Mark Ritchie, heard me describe a dream of falling into the abyss, he asked a question that has stayed with me ever since: “What happens to you when you fall into the abyss?” My mind scrambled for an answer. Before I could form one, Mark said with conviction, “You fall into the arms of God.”
That reframed everything. I realized how much energy I’d spent resisting the fall — clinging to control, fearing what would happen if I let go. My ego wanted safety, certainty, and the illusion of stability. But the deeper journey teaches that it’s in losing our grip that we truly discover God’s grip.
We often imagine God as someone we climb toward, but more often, it’s God who waits in the depths — not to punish or condemn, but to hold and transform us. The falling that feels like failure becomes the very means of grace.
Scripture
Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you; I have made you and I will carry you.
Isaiah 46:4
Ancient Quotes
Cast your care upon God and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. When you fall, fall into His hands, for His mercy is infinite.
St. Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of Psalm 37, 24
He who descends into himself and beholds his sin, sees not despair but the depth of God’s compassion. The more he falls, the closer he comes to the arms that raise him up.
St. Isaac of Nineveh (the Syrian), Ascetical Homilies, II.38
Modern Quotes
The poetic image is that of a stone falling in water. Imagine it’s falling, falling, falling, falling. And the water in which the stone is falling is bottomless. So it’s falling forever, falling forever, falling forever. Now if we take this image … imagine you are that stone; and imagine we’re all falling forever into God.
James Finley, The Divine Ambush — Excerpt from Disc 6: Unedited Transcript, Center for Action & Contemplation, 2013.
Success teaches us nothing beyond our mid-40’s. From there on, most of our learning comes from failing.
Richard Rohr, Living School Teaching.
Journaling Prompts
- Where in your life right now do you sense God inviting you to let go?
- What fears rise when you think about “falling” spiritually, emotionally, or relationally?
- How might your understanding of God change if you saw the abyss as a place of embrace rather than danger?
- What would it look like to trust that grace pools in your lowest places?
Go deeper into this week’s theme:
Read the full Week 14 Reflection: Failing, Falling, Into the Abyss