We’ve all heard that when you fall off a horse you need to get back on it again. Diana Moore, a competitor in the World Equestrian Games, literally did that. 20 years ago, when she was 18, she and her horse both fell on pavement, and she has been paralyzed on her left side ever since. She says that the first thing she said when she regained consciousness was, “I am going to ride horses again.”

After her accident, Moore had to learn to talk and eat again. At times she had doubts about riding again. But thanks to her determination and an upbeat outlook on life, she got back in the saddle again. This week she will ride for Argentina in an event that will include disabled competitors.

Sometimes we take a bad tumble in life. It could come in the form of a failed marriage, lost job, illness or accident, addiction, family problem, moral failure, etc. It may take time to recover from such a fall, but thankfully, we have a God who gives second chances, and quite often the Lord uses bad breaks to make us stronger people.

Rom.5:3-5 offers these words of encouragement—“…we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”