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Thoughts from a Fall Risk

By now you may have heard about my recent fainting spell that landed me in the hospital for two days. If you haven’t heard it happened at Sam’s Club (which had nothing to do with it) while Sandra and I were shopping for groceries for the Grace Link Advanced Training (GLAT) retreat. I passed out, fell to the floor and hit the back of my head. This resulted in me earning a bright yellow wrist band that says “FALL RISK” in 64 point font when I wound up in the emergency room!! “Hi! My name is Blake and I am a fall risk.” They didn’t even want me to walk around in my room!

This fainting has happened to me twice before: in 1998 the first time I went to Sighisoara, Romania and around 2004 when I was in Cluj, Romania. Both those times I was involved in teaching the EL message. Well, this time I was preparing to teach the EL message to the AT group here and it was the first time I was in a place where a thorough evaluation could be made. All the tests were clean by the way and the bottom line is I had a vasovagal episode. (If you Google it it’ll explain it better than I can.)

I’m not sure exactly how all this relates but it gives me pause to consider the spiritual implications of this experience. I certainly don’t for a moment want to imply that I am public enemy #1 to the councils of hell, but I do think that the message we proclaim is lethal to the false gospels, both to the legalism and the license that Satan would have us pursue in the name of Christ. It is simply typical that anytime we attempt to offer a conference or workshop or advanced training, some unexpected concurrence takes place, be it weather or illness or family issue or something else out of the norm. The only time Sandra and I ever had a serious discipline issue with our youngest daughter (who was in high school at the time) occurred when I was doing an extended training event in Romania and Sandra was left to deal with it without me being there!! (Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean no one’s out to get me!)

At this point in my life all this doesn’t surprise me, even though it took two days in the hospital to recognize it with the help of some perceptive friends. And one of the takeaways for me is that I must not forget that we are engaged in a war of eternal proportions. The effectiveness of the training we offer is not about how good an organizer or teacher or counselor we are nor how great are the handouts or notes we use. It is about the glory of God, the name of Christ and the amazing grace They administer to us through the indwelling Spirit. It’s about the Truth! Sometimes I lose touch with that reality and give more weight to the preparation and organization of the training over the opposition we face when we take up the banner of Christ.

9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If they fall down,
they can help each other up.
But pity those who fall
and have no one to help them up! (Proverbs 4.10-11)

When it comes to spiritual battles we all are fall risks, especially so when we are solo. We need each other, a band of brothers, a community, a team to move with us and under-gird us. Confession time: While I know this from experience and from the scriptures, I sometimes fall back into the independent way, the way of my youth and my life in Adam.

Another takeaway for me is this: I will no longer travel alone to teach and offer ministry. Either Sandra goes with me or one or more of you go with me. There is the very practical issue of physically helping me up off the floor of Sam’s or Tesco or a train station floor should the enemy pull the vagal nerve torture trick on me again. But there is also the very real issue of spiritual cover we must always offer one another as move into the fray for the Kingdom of God. I have heard that Billy Graham always traveled with a companion in constant contact with him. What wisdom!

This will make it more challenging for me to travel as I’ll need to coordinate schedules and likely have to find financial assistance to allow others to travel with me. I’ll probably ask my sons-in-law to go to the front of the line here since I’m still waiting on the payment for the brides I furnished these guys! They owe me! But please know that I’d be blessed to share those trips with you when it works out.

You too are my community, my band, my team, so I hope you will prayerful consider this as a valid opportunity for you - I suppose I should emphasize the male gender here so as not to send the wrong message - to take an active part with me in Europe and the other options Father offers.

So enough for now except to say thank you all for the prayers and encouragement and love you have lavished on us! We are grateful.

Posted on 08/30 at 03:39 PM
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