Get Back Up

I love playing my iPod on car trips. My kids know the words to all of my thousands of songs. My daughter made an astute observation lately. She said, "Mom-all of your songs are about love." Huh, what an accurate observation. One song the kids were singing today was one they have made me play repetitively called, "Get Back Up" by TobyMac. It's especially heartwarming when they are belting out the chorus about getting back up again. No lie.....they make me play it dozens of times in a row. It is an inspiring song about a common theme, to get back up after you've suffered from setbacks and hardships. Everyone could use those words of encouragement at some point in their lives. My kids have gone through a lot over the past year. They made a move across country, leaving their friends and a community they had known their entire lives. They loved Connecticut and they had built their lives around traditions and rituals based on the area we lived. Every Christmas we would go to the local hospital to see the beautifully decorated trees on display which were raffled off before Christmas. As luck would have it, we won one almost every year. We had cold temps and snow in the winter and they looked forward to snow days, so that they could stay home from school and sled in the back yard. I would always bake cookies on those days, so that they would have a warm cookie when they came in from the cold. The kids and I would hike a local mountain called Sleeping Giant in the spring, summer and fall and we had our favorite pancake restaurant called Chips. We knew the staff at Starbucks by name and we knew every inch of the movie theatre at the local mall. They had to leave the house they loved and friends they played with to trek all the way from Connecticut to California. They started school in September and all three had to adjust to a new school and a new house. We had to make new traditions, like Thursday nights are now dinner out at Pick-up Stix. They all made new friends (although they still talk about the friends they miss) and they love their new house. There is no Chips here but iHop seems to do just fine. The new things they enjoy are weekends with their cousins and birthdays and holidays which always include a house full of family members now. They also love that Disneyland is only about an hour away and we go there at least once a month. My oldest recently commented that he likes the weather here because he can wear shorts in December. They are also adjusting to the biggest change....the fact that their father lives in a different residence. They see him every other weekend and occasionally on a weeknight, which is a big adjustment. They are sad about the fact that their dad and I are not together but they are adjusting with all that they have gone through. They miss him tremendously but they do love that he has a pool and jacuzzi at his place. So, when my kids belt out the song "Get back Up" with such gusto and feeling, I think they know what they are singing about. We all have to get back up after losses and changes and as the song poignantly says....you will shine again. What a wonderful lesson about life to remember.


Get Back Up: TobyMac

You turned away when I looked you in the eye,
And hesitated when I asked if you were alright,
Seems like you're fighting for your life,
But why? oh why?
Wide awake in the middle of your nightmare,
You saw it comin' but it hit you outta no where,
And theres always scars
When you fall that far

We lose our way,
We get back up again
It's never too late to get back up again,
One day you gonna shine again,
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever,
Lose our way,
We get back up again,
So get up, get up,
You gonna shine again,
Never too late to get back up again,
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever
[May be knocked down but not out forever]

You rolled out at the dawning of the day
Heart racin' as you made you little get away,
It feels like you've been runnin' all your life
But, why? Oh why?

So you've pulled away from the love that wou'd've been there,
You start believin' that your situation's unfair

But there's always scars,
When you fall that far

We lose our way,
We get back up again
Never too late to get back up again,
One day, you gonna shine again,
You may be knocked down but not out forever,
Lose our way, we get back up again,
So get up, get up
You gonna shine again
It's never too late, to get back up again
You may be knocked down, but not out forever,
May be knocked down, but not out forever!

This is love callin', love callin', out to the broken,
This is love callin'.
This is love callin', love callin', out to the broken
This is love callin'.
This is love callin', love callin',
I am so broken
This is love callin' love callin

Lose our way, [way way way ay ay ay]
We get back up, [get back up again]
It's never too late [late late late ate ate ate]
You may be knocked down but not out forever!

Lose our way,
We get back up again,
So get up get up
You gonna shine again
Never too late to get back up again
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever,

This is love [lose our way] callin' love callin' [get back up again]
To the broken
This is love [never too late] callin'
[may be knocked down but not out forever]
This is love [lose our way] callin' love callin' [we get back up again]
To the broken
This is love [never too late] callin'
[may be knocked down but not out forever]

This is love callin' love callin'
Out to the broken,
This is love callin'....