Life Lessons Learned on a Limping Leg (Yeah, I know...I just wanted an alliteration :) )

So most of y’all know that on November 1^st of last year one of the GNOMer’s was playing basketball and screwed up his knee big time……well you also probably know I was that GNOMer. The point of this isn’t to brag about my injury skills….I’ll save that for another time J I’ll also spare you all the gory details of my injury.

Let’s fastforward about two months, from the ER on November 1^st to mid January. In that time I had my knee rebuilt, did therapy, got off crutches, and left North Carolina with the team and traveled down to Florida.

Ok, finally the main point. I don’t remember the date but one evening the team was at a family’s house for dinner. To kill time while we waited for dinner we started throwing a Frisbee around. Now if you know me you know that I love Frisbee. And I don’t just love Frisbee….I LOVE Frisbee J Well by this time I was able to walk again so I was attempting to toss the Frisbee too. I finally got frustrated and gave up. To be honest, it was embarrassing. If a pass didn’t come right to me I couldn’t catch it. I couldn’t move fast or do anything other than stand there. I was sitting there on the sidelines feeling bad for myself and being frustrated over the fact that I had screwed my knee up so bad and worrying that it would never be the same again. It was then that the Lord got ahold of me and began pointing some things out.

Lesson 1: Trust God Even In the Midst of Trials.

You see the Lord had a plan through all of this. There was a reason He wanted me “Out of commission” in a sense. I wasn’t able to do outreach with the team and even got some flak from people for that. But what matters is that I know God, and I know that He promised to work something good for this. I know that God wants the best for me, and even though being on crutches for two months was a huge trial and I couldn’t see what the purpose was I knew that God knew, and I just needed to trust that. I’m still not sure what the main purpose of that trial was. Yeah I learned stuff, but I know the Lord has a bigger plan than I can ever know. One of the amazing things about having a relationship with God is that, as one of His children, you know that He is in control and watching out for you. Another thing I needed to trust God in was that He would bring me through this trial. Everytime I looked at my leg I had a hard time believing I’d ever be able to do anything other than walk. This is the exciting part! I broke my leg in North Carolina and was more than likely going to have to travel home for surgery and recovery….meaning I would be away from the team for about two months. I prayed about it and the Lord made it possible to have surgery in NC…..and also with one of the top orthopedists in the nation! I had an amazing doctor and also got to have it done at an absolutely amazing hospital with amazing service. The best part is that I was able to be with the team the whole time! I had to miss most of the outreach but I was still able to go to classes and even speak a couple times. Therapy started 3 weeks after surgery and my therapist said to wait 9-12 months before playing sports again, two weeks later I saw my doctor for a follow-up visit. He walked into the room and saw my knee and said “Wow”…..I liked the way that sounded J The doctor said I am having one of the best recoveries he has ever seen and that I could be back to normal in 3 months! The other day I was able to start running for short distances. The Lord is soooo good! I went from having what my doc called a “Major knee injury” to having one of the best recoveries and being able to run already! I can’t play sports but I get excited every time I run J See I would never have chosen to break my leg, but God knew that me breaking my leg would bring me to a point where I learned to trust Him especially in trials. So whatever trial you are going through now look at what way you can trust God and try to give it all up to Him. He wants you to trust Him with your trials and also with the outcomes. We may not always get the outcome that WE want, but if we get Gods outcome then we can trust that His plan is best! We can find peace even in the worst trials by just giving it up to the One in control.

Lesson 2: When you ask God to do something be ready for it to happen.

For a week or so before the injury I had been praying for one thing specifically, and that was this, “Lord, help me to be humble”……..He decided to take me up on that. If you have ever been on crutches you know that it is very humbling. I remember one time I made myself a sandwich in the kitchen and then had to ask someone to carry it to the table for me. I couldn’t even get myself a glass of water. Now I’m definitely not going to win any awards for humility, HA! Not by any means J My point is this, when you ask god for something expect to get it. I don’t regret praying for humility, not at all, but while I praying “Lord humble me” I also prayed “Lord deal gently and graciously with me.” Make sure you don’t ask rash things of God. Consider carefully what you ask of the Lord because you just might get it. Just be ready for when it comes.

Lesson 3: Thank God For Great Friends.

Throughout my recovery I was again and again struck by the amazingness of those around me. For most of my recovery I was not at home, meaning instead of having a mom and sister to care for me I had 6 guys and Mr. and Mrs. Shelley (aka Papa Mark and Mama Kim). I couldn’t have asked for more amazing people. God knew who I needed in my life at that time and he blessed my socks off by putting them there for me. They were all so willing to help me and put up with my lack of ability to do…well…anything. Take a minute to thank God for those good friends God has put in your life.

Ok, some not so serious things I learned:

Always…..ALWAYS.......make good solid landings when grabbing the basketball rim. *Snap* is not what you want to here when you land.

Avoid Annie Penn Memorial Hospital…..at least the ER.

Make sure the footers on your crutches don’t get worn through…..bad things will happen.

Crutches make you have amazingly tough armpits J

Slippery floors and crutches are no bueno.

You can get a lot of favors if you are unable to walk….just be careful not to take advantage.

NEVER overuse the phrase “I can’t do it because I am a cripple”

And Finally, Dr. Aplington and Wesley Long Memorial Hospital rocked my world!