My son is learning that Elton John song on the piano at the moment and with it pounding behind me every day, I couldn’t not write a blog post about it!

Combine that with the fifteen minutes it took me to coax my daughter off the sofa and her phone to go get dressed this morning. The opposite dilemma I suppose!

Most days I have a battle with myself to get up, set my feet on the ground and see how well I can stay upright. It’s amazing how fear can stop us from even giving things a go. But what’s the worst that can happen?

I tried using my trekking poles for the first time in months a few days ago. It was too unsteady. But yesterday I tried again under watchful supervision and I was able to do it.

It has always been my deflecting response when people ask me about having MS: ‘I’m still on my feet’. But what happens when we are beaten to the ground with hard times? Sometimes it’s ok to tell the ugly truth. Sometimes it is impossible to put a bright spin on how we are. My question for you is, are you strong enough to say it, or, on the other side, are you strong enough to stand by someone and hear them telling it to you? Are you prepared to listen beyond the ‘fine’ to hear the full story?

When I was close to falling it was beyond reassuring to know there was another person there to keep me upright. Who is that for you? I remember when my son was a lot smaller he told me he wasn’t going to let go of my hand until we were home. There’s a Don Francisco song that my mum loves where Jesus promises the same thing; ‘no matter what may happen child, I’ll never let go of your hand.’ I can’t be the one who keeps you still standing, but I know Someone who can.

Life is a battle. Everyone knows that. But what matters most is how good we are at getting up again after we fall.

Or how well we stand by the ones who are falling beside us.