Fall six times rise seven. This has been a refrain for my life, and perhaps it resonates with you as well. It's my paraphrase from a wisdom writing of Solomon these past few years. Well, a good majority of my life really I've had physical issues and challenges and lately is I am doing the things to regain good health. It seems I take one step forward and then fall back several yet. As long as I keep plugging along, I will reach my goals. I can fall six times, but if I rise seven, I win my health challenges have been more like dealing with Nat swarms rather than a dragon such as cancer or some other fear diagnosis and thankful for that. But dang it. NATS are annoying. As a child, I was often described with compassion and sadness as a sickly child gamma globulin shots. When I was a toddler, several rounds of antibiotics in early grade school due to strep throat later in grade school, a virus with a raging fever that had my hair falling out weeks later.

And of course the usual chicken pox, mumps colds, broken foot in junior high, and later on scoliosis was discovered and they required that. I wear a full back brace 23 hours a day. You might recall a movie way back when in the eighties about a gal in high school wearing a back brace, that would have been me after that orthodontics at the time could offer no help to the huge gaps in my teeth though. I got braces after high school, when a new orthodontist moved into my small town, then I contracted viral meningitis, not once, but twice as a 19 year old, there was concern that it might be multiple sclerosis and decades later when I was hospitalized yet again for meningitis, for the symptom care. Um, I had one doctor who was delighted that he could actually grow the meningitis bug in a Petri dish.

Thanks to me. He had never had that in 25 years, guests, something good came of it. I also had kidney stones, a severe car accident that left me with broken ribs and a concussion accompanied by a beautiful scar on my forehead that my husband lovingly is my ax wound. I went through the sun roof of the glass when the car flipped. Um, I had a scare with bone scans and to determine if what I was experienced was, uh, rheumatoid arthritis or Paget's disease. It was discovered later that it was an MMR booster that a state required me to have before teaching. And that gave me the symptoms that I was experiencing concussion for. One of my special needs children that I was teaching that had me out of work for three days rear ended. And it was impact with whiplash. Chronic sinusitis treated the way too many antibiotics or anxiety was treated for both hospitalized with a cardiac issue.

And of course there are my riding accidents, always my whole, my fault, not my horses. One ride I broke, I broke my clavicle, another, a tailbone injury and then broken toes because horses like to step on toes concussion again from a cliff dieting act incident, which was a near drowning situation. And most recently discovered that H pylori is a real issue. Thanks to over antibiotic use that has been, uh, preventing my body from using B and D vitamins. So my lab numbers are always in the basement, severe reaction to make medication that took me months to recover from. And prior to that, I experienced a significant hip muscle injury while attending a workshop that left me unable to walk for several weeks. And I'm currently dealing with what could be an antibiotic antibiotic resistant infection. Now I'm sharing this all with you, all these little mats of my life in hopes that it may resonate with some of you and what you're facing and give you hope and encouragement that it doesn't have to be a hopeless situation.

Most often as an adult, I get some momentum in my health and journey. And then wham, I am slammed down again, whether it's an illness or, or an injury, but now armed with the promises in scripture that I know are secure, because I know he who has written them and I can trust his good character. So wham. Yep. I might get knocked down, but I will rise again. The wisdom, right things found in scripture, remind us that we were not created to go this life alone. I have found that my dear husband has been a great source of encouragement and support for me. He has been my, uh, by my side, through so many of these health issues and with love and great patients see me through each one of them. Dear friends are also walking alongside of me in this Odyssey. I thank God for each one of them offering care, concern, compassion, encouragement, patience, and understanding.

And also when I need to hear it most gospel truth and not a pity party participant. So this is how I get slammed down with health issues, but have the motivation to rise. Again. Solomon writes in Proverbs 24 16, and this is what I paraphrased for a righteous man falls seven times and rises again. But the wicked stumble in time of calamity. The number seven in scripture is a number of completeness. It also reminds us that we can fall several times and still rise again. The prophet Micah states do not rejoice over me. Oh my enemy, though, I fall, I will rise the white dwell in darkness. The Lord is a light for me. Isn't that a beautiful promise. I love David's poetry and songs. He writes in the 37th song, the steps of a man are established by the Lord. And he delights in his way.

When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong because the Lord is the one who holds his hand. So as I struggle with some of these things, that's what I imagine and know to be true, that God will not abandon me. He's right there with me, virtually holding my hand. Paul writes a letter to the Corinthian church and wow, is this powerful in this letter to this, uh, the second letter to the church, um, Paul writes, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power of God and not hope will be from God and not from ourselves. We are afflicted and every way, but not crushed perplexed, but not despairing persecuted, but not forsaken struck down, but not destroyed. Isn't that awesome. See, each time a fall and a rising again, afflicted, but not utterly crushed. There have been days and weeks and even months where I have been afflicted, but I've never been crushed perplexed, and often perplexed with these health issues I experienced.

They make no sense. They are annoying NATS of my life. And it seems I have a swarm of them. Most of the time, I have friends who are facing dragons of life like cancer. Well, we're perplexed, but not despairing. There's no room for despair. When we follow the one who holds our life in his hands for when we are Jesus followers, we know we can trust him for the outcome and care. And when persecution comes our way, we who belong to Christ know we will not be forsaken. We may be struck down and I have this, had this feeling of being struck down time and again, but I am not God's faithfulness. And his loving kindness has provided me with a community of believers and all I need to get back up again to wrap this up. There is a song by one of my favorite groups, mercy ne this chorus resonates with me so much.

This goes out to anyone who's down for the count. It's not over. Don't give up, don't throw in the towel, just remember who you belong to. Then let me remind you how this ends. We win. I love this too. As the song continues, we get pushed down. We get beat up. Kind of sounds like what Paul was writing about to the Corinthian church. So afraid life's going to keep us up against the ropes, but hang on. There is hope because if Christ is inside us, it won't be a fair fight because deep down we know how the story goes. We win. This is how I can rise up with hope. Each time I am smacked down with health issues or some other calamity. And I hope that this gives you some hope as well. Trust in God, trust his word. He will never leave us or forsake us until next time. This is Sandra Vernon.

Thank you for tuning in to the art of connection with me, Sandra Vernon, founder of faith, society, sharing messages from my heart to encourage personal growth and fulfillment so that each one of us can become the best version of ourselves.