GET ‘BACK-UP’

At the very beginning, of the very beginning, of this year, I shared with many, a distinct Word I had received……..”GET BACK UP!”

At the time of praying, I’d heard those 3 words so clearly and presumed the Lord wanted me to stand, to rise, to not let the episode I had just spent in the hospital, hold me down or keep me down; for me to not lie down, or give in to the horrific spinal and nerve pain I was enduring. (Subsequently, that first time in the hospital, due to excruciating pain in my back and legs, would be the beginning of many hospital stays over the next few months).

So I did! I did GET BACK UP! Well, I certainly tried………….

But eventually, and after a 5th episode in hospital, which concluded in a major emergency surgery on my spine, and a theatre visit of 8 hours…….eventually……..I heard my Father in Heaven whisper “GET BACK UP” a second time……I heard it so very, very clearly, so very, very gently, and on this occasion……CORRECTLY!

“GET BACK UP” was a Word for me……to prepare! At the birth of this year….. when all was new…… the Lord Himself knew…….just what would be unfolding for me…….and He was going to use the coming period of physical pain as a time of growth for me; a time where I could rid myself of more pride. You see, unless I allow it, and its very rare and there are only a very few……I struggle to ‘let people in’. I seldom ask people for help………and I have almost always, when faced with dark or troubling times, trudged through, pretty much on my own.

But the Lord knew just what was coming; that I would be immobile, depressed, scared, and clinging on to any strip of hope by a thin, worn and tattered thread. He knew that I would not understand what was happening, would definitely struggle to tolerate my inability to feel so ‘stuck’, and that even for a few days, which felt like an eternity…….I couldn’t even see a light at the end of the tunnel…..not even a flicker…..and that was unnerving to say the least.

God knew that a spiritual battle was about to commence, not only for my physical health but for my mind also; a serious spine operation was about to take place, where I would have to ‘learn’ to walk again, where I would for a time, lose my dignity as well as my optimism; where I would actually ‘lose myself’ (!) And the Lord wanted me to prepare……to come through victoriously…..to GROW in Him, in strength, in belief, in love! Another step towards maturity in Him!

“GET ‘BACK-UP’!”

“GET THE TROOPS! ALLOW YOUR CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO HELP YOU, TO LOVE YOU! YOU’RE ABOUT TO SEE THAT RUNNING THE RACE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A LONELY PLACE!”

When I re-read the blog I wrote in January, ‘Now, where did I put those hiking boots?’, about Mount Growth, I can clearly see the prophesying over my own life! I’m not ashamed to say the last few months have been really, really tough, not just for me but for my daughter also. However, it’s through the dedicated prayers of many and the love shown towards us in ways I cannot count, that I have learned the most positive way through any episode of physical and/or mental trauma is by walking it……..(even if with a Zimmer frame and back brace!!)…………step by step WITH others!

WITH……..your BACK UP! 🙂

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matt 18:20

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” 1 Thess 5:11

If you need prayer for anything, please let me and my prayer team be there for you! Go to http://www.elliepalmacass.com and leave your request. May the Lord bless you and keep you!