Like many in the Goshen College community, I hoped for a great summer and autumn – long, sunny days of unbounded promise. After six great months at Goshen College, I was getting the hang of the job and looked forward to completing projects and working with our summer interns before fall semester began. My wife, Judy Weaver, and I were settling into a home on the Mill Race. We were ready to enjoy Goshen’s charms and pleasures. I anticipated long days that satisfied mind, body and soul.

But my plans changed June 26, when I stumbled down the stairs at the Goshen Public Library and landed on my left knee. My kneecap was pushed several inches above where it should have been. I’d severed my patellar tendon – which connects the kneecap to the shinbone – and torn some muscles. I couldn’t lift my leg or stand on it.

Judy took me to Goshen Hospital and I left a few hours later with a leg brace, crutches and medications. Two days later, I had successful surgery to repair the damage. Because of the swelling and knee pain, I regrettably cancelled my trip to the Mennonite convention in San Jose, Calif. Still, I returned to work the day after the fall and the afternoon following surgery, though I needed a cane to get around. I was bouncing back, just as I had following other mishaps.

Then I collapsed early on July 13. My heart was beating twice the normal rate and I could hardly breathe, so Judy returned me to the emergency room. A spider web of blood clots had formed in my injured leg. Clots had broken off and lodged in my lungs, which caused the rapid heart rate and breathing problems. I was hospitalized for seven days.

Since then, like many others who have suffered from health problems, I’ve endured doctor’s visits, tests, re-tests, medications, physical therapy, medical bills, limited mobility and pain. Like many others, I was feeling a bit older, but by late fall things were looking up; I’d stopped taking painkillers. Maybe I’d be OK.

Then I fell again Dec. 8 – on my injured left knee – after I slipped on a patch of ice outside my front door. Thanks to God I didn’t break any bones or tear any tendons, but my leg is hurting again. And, again, my patience and faith are being tested.

While this has been my toughest physical trial, I know many people who have dealt with far greater injuries or illnesses. So I’ve prayed for the strength to accept my setbacks – to let time heal my body and restore my spirit. I’ve tried to remain upbeat. And I’ve come to appreciate anew the wonderful Goshen College community.

The prayers and support from my GC family – faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends – are overwhelming. Scores of people visited me in the hospital or my home, sent cards or e-mails or called to cheer me up. GC people I’ve never met offered prayers and best wishes, bringing tears to my eyes. All this care and comfort carried me through many desperate hours. And I know it made a big difference.

I don’t know how this story will end because my injury is unresolved. That leaves me worried for obvious reasons and also because I never like to write a story without knowing how it will end. But as a person of faith, I must accept that uncertainty is part of life. I know that we simply have to go on, hoping for the best and praying that things will be better. With God’s help, they will be.