Nanakorobi yaoki

Good afternoon os meus amigos,


      Between learning traditional Japanese Jiu Jitsu, and yes, karate(I have historically preferred Tae Kwon Do, but I have studied some karate and I am studying to get my black belt in it as well.), I am bombarded with Japanese terms on a pretty regularly. Kuzushi, kamai, mushin, zanshin, jijigatame, jigoku, kaizen(which is tattoed on my left shoulder), etc. I also have to write papers on three of these terms as I learned this morning. A friend of mine through martial arts shared a picture on Facebook with a Japanese proverb I had heard before, but it was good to read again. It is nanakorobi yaoki, meaning "Fall down seven times, stand up eight."
     There are two great ways of testing your character: how do you react in times of great stress and how do   you react when you fail in those times? Do you hide away from the world in shame? Do you seek help to strengthen yourself? Most importantly, do you stand up and try again? Do you press forward resiliantly? When I was eleven years old, I tried out for the school track team. I didn't make it, but I saw something that taught me a valuable lesson. I wanted to be a distance runner. There were over twenty of us running a mile. Half way through, another kid fell forward right on his face. We all laughed at him. He stood up immediately and sprinted past all of us. Did any of us laughing make the team? Well, he did.
     In the Bible, Peter faced a test of loyalty at Jesus' crucifiction. He was asked if he knew Jesus. He could have been the honorable follower to go down with his leader, but he chose to lie to save his life. In fact he lied three times. He was called Peter, meaning "the Rock", something that is immovable and holds strong. Yet he gave into to his weakness. Ultimately he was willing to lose his life to preach the Gospel, sharing the fate of his Savior, as Peter was crucified too. We all fall short of the glory of God, but the question is will we get up after we fall flat on our face, even as everyone laughs at us for it, to sprint on to victory? Keep your eyes on the prize, and remember that your Judge has the grace and mercy to forgive you so you can keep running. Also don't forget to obey the rules when you stand back up!

God bless you,
Seth