Lyme Life ~Down for the Count

Down for the Count, Up in Three

When I was little, my uncle, who was just a year and a half older, and I watched wrestling. It was in the mid-70s. I’ll never forget the scissor-locks. Many of the moves those wrestlers did were tried on me. I was often down for the count.

“Down for the count,” was a common phrase in our young lives. It meant that a wrestling opponent was pinned, my shoulders were on the ground and he was superior, at least for the moment.

Lyme Disease is a wrestling match with an unseen opponent. It is usually not just Lyme, but numerous other tick-bourne co-infections. Babesia, Bartonella, Rockie Mountain Spotted Feaver and others are transmitted by ticks.

One of the worst parts is that unseen opponent is unseen by others as well. Friends and family cannot see any evidence of disease. You may look depressed or even lazy to them. You appear to be self-centered and uncaring because all of your energy is used up trying to cope with pain and fatigue.

I’m trying to keep calm and not panic as my heart is fluttering making it hard to breathe normally. Focusing my attention on catching my breath, I miss what was said, making it seem like I don’t care about the conversation. I do. I care.

I’ve been dealing with this as long as I can remember. I’m pinned every so often. It might be a few days or a week of being down for the count. So far, I have a consistent record of getting back up. From 1988-1992 I had a very bad time. And again 2015-2016, it was bad. I’m still here, wrestling.

Hope

My only hope is in Jesus Christ, the only Son of God. His perfect love put Him down for the count, but He was up in three.

It may seem strange to talk about the resurrection in October. We usually think of that in the spring. It was a part of the spring feasts designed by God. Jesus is the first fruit, sacrificed back to God. He did so of His own free will. So, I submit to Him. I want to be joint heirs with Him.

He is our example. The Son of God lived here as a human being, submitting to the laws of nature and of nature’s God. He obeyed His parents, worked, served, and taught others how to become children of God. So, we can live with Him in heaven, with no more pain, no more death, every tear will be wiped away.

That is the hope. He was down for the count and up in three. After He took on all of our infirmities and became sin for us, He died. He was beaten by the guards so badly that He was unrecognizable. Barely alive, He carried His crossbeam up the the Place of the Skull, where He was crucified.

The Cross

The crucifixion was horrible. They pounded nails into His hands and feet. They dropped the beam into the hole. Then, He hung suffocating. The only way to catch a breath was to lift Himself by the nails. For hours, He hung there. When it was time, a soldier stabbed Him in the side. Blood and water flowed, meaning His organs had shut down. He gave up His spirit.

Jesus willingly did that. He came that we would have life and life more abundantly. It was the plan. He left heaven and all of its majesty, all of the glory, to bring us back with Him. He was down for the count, but He was up in three.

After three days, He rose from the grave.

The power from heaven to raise Him from there was so strong that the Scriptures say many received their dead family members back. He stayed around too. He showed Himself, teaching and visiting for forty days. Then, He ascended with a crowd of 500 people watching.

I may be down for the count, but I will get back up, one way or another.

If I die, I will go up to heaven. But if I don’t soon, I will get back up and do what I can for my fellow man.

If you die, what will happen to you?