Monday Morning Memo: Life Update

I had my blog post all done for today, which centered on our next beatitude.  But I felt impressed to put a “pause” on this series to share with you a life update.

 

In the summer of 2022, I began having pain in both of my ankles.  I hadn’t had a particular injury which caused this…it just came on and it didn’t take long to have it really affect my daily life.  To make a long story short…it was discovered I had tears in both of my Achilles tendons.  I had to wear a boot on the ankle which was the worst until healing could occur.  Once that ankle had improved…I moved the boot to the other ankle and wore it until the pain lessened.

 

Over many months, healing did occur, and I was able to return to a fairly normal daily routine.  I was back walking and feeling good again and that continued until last August, 2023.  Dan and I were on vacation and were out on a hike and I suddenly had pain return to both ankles.  I thought just taking it easy for a while would settle down the pain, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.  So, by October I was back in the doctor’s office and it was confirmed I had tears in both Achilles once again.  This time I ended up having to wear 2 boots at the same time because I just couldn’t take the severe pain of walking with shoes.

 

Let me tell you…if you want to get attention when you are in public…put two boots on.  No matter where we went…people stared.  Mouths dropped open…fingers were pointed…gasps were heard.  Complete strangers came up to me to share their words of wisdom, such as “You have two boots on!”  It was good they told me because I, of course, had no idea I had boots on both of my feet   

 

I understand…it isn’t a normal thing to see and I learned to laugh at the comments…most of the time.  Fortunately, it also gave me an opportunity to share about God’s faithfulness to complete strangers.  I remember one gentleman approached me in a restaurant and he wanted to know why in the world I had two on and so I briefly shared what was going on.  His response was, “But you are still smiling.  How are you able to smile?”  So, I shared with him that even though I wasn’t enjoying going through this detour in my life…God was still faithful.  I told him God had never let me down yet…and I knew He wasn’t going to let me down now.  I wish I would have had a camera…because the look on his face was priceless.  I think my answer was much more than he bargained for.

 

I couldn’t begin physical therapy until this past January because we had to wait for the severe inflammation to settle down first.  So, the first week of the year I found myself with a therapist as he began working on trying to get me back to “normal”…whatever that is!  Again, to shorten the story…two weeks ago today…it was determined that physical therapy just wasn’t going to be able to fix my problems and I was told I needed to see a surgeon.  

 

By Wednesday of that week, I was sitting in the surgeon’s office and it was confirmed I needed surgery.  Since both ankles cannot be done at the same time, the decision was made to operate on the right one first because it was the worst one.  By Thursday of that week the surgery date was set for this past Thursday and I am now in a time of recovery. Once this ankle gets to a certain point in its healing, my left ankle will more than likely be operated on next.  I have been told that each surgery will have a total recovery time of 12 months.

 

I don’t know if you followed that timeline or not…but in the span of only 11 days…I was able to see my doctor, the surgeon, schedule surgery, get insurance approval and have the surgery! Absolutely amazing.  In this world of delays and life “hiccups”…nothing usually goes that smoothly.

 

Why am I sharing all of this with you today?  To be honest…I’m not sure…I just know that I felt God asking me to do so.  I’m wondering if maybe you are also going through something in your life where you aren’t sure that God really “sees” you.  You may feel all alone in your current troubles…I know I have had days where I felt like that.  You may feel like maybe there isn’t any hope of things getting better…I know I have had days where I lost hope.  You may be in so much physical or emotional pain today that you feel you just can’t go on…trust me…I’ve had many days where I felt like the pain was too intense and I couldn’t go on.

 

Wherever you find yourself today…I want to encourage you and let you know that God does SEE you.  He knows right where you are and nothing you are going through is a surprise to Him.  He loves you so much and cares more for you than you can even imagine.  Can He touch you today and take all your pain and troubles away?  Yes, our God is all powerful and there isn’t anything He can’t do…but He may not choose to do so.  Because sometimes God doesn’t take you out of the fire.  Sometimes He just chooses to get in the fire with you.

 

Anyone who knows me well, knows that my ankles are not the only health issues which I face on a daily basis.  Have I wanted to be miraculously healed?   You bet I have!  But I have felt God impressing on me that I can do more for Him with my health issues than without and if that is truly the case…then my desire should be to bring Him glory…even in the fire.  Ephesians 3:20 reminds me that, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”  HE IS ABLE…and until I take my last breath…I want to bring Him all the glory that He so richly deserves.

 

So, wherever you find yourself today…look up.  If you feel you are at the end of your rope…tie a knot in it and hang on.  Trust the One who holds you in the palm of His hand and won’t ever let you go and then I urge you to repeat this prayer:

 

“Father, I put my trust in You and today I give You _______________(state whatever struggle you are facing).  I thank You that you see me right where I am.  I thank You that You are the God of the impossible.  You can do anything and so I put my trust in Your ability and not my own.  Help me Father not to fear, but to rely on Your strength, Your power and Your timing…knowing that Your ways are perfect.  May my days be an example to others of your faithfulness and may my actions bring You all the glory and honor which You so richly deserve.  Amen.”

 

“In the same way, let your light shine before others,

that they may see your good deeds

and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 5:16