Ode To Joy

I went skiing two weeks ago–to the day.

And I had an accident.

It was my first time downhill skiing.

On my first ‘real’ hill, I took a hard fall on the back of my head–in other words, suffered a minor concussion–which might have impacted my mind-body coordination going down the second hill, on which I fell and sprained my MCL and tore part of the meniscus in my knee. I was bedridden for a week, and had to use crutches to get around the second week. Now, going into my third week of recovery, I can start walking again–painfully, but I’m walking. That’s what counts.

Each day was a struggle. Pain—in my neck, back, knee, and head–fluctuated from hour to hour, day to day. I battled depression, bitterness, and despair for an entire week. But I survived, and was strengthened and refined by this injury.

I now understand how other disabled people feel out in public. I know now, firsthand, that “lying in bed all week” is not as glorious and wonderfully lazy as it might seem. I learned that the mind was stronger and more powerful than I thought. I have experienced not being able to walk at all: now I truly understand what a blessing it is to be able to stand and walk. (Needless to say, a lot of the stories in the Bible about the lame jumping and running after Jesus touched and healed them came to life for me.)

I saw a side of my family that I’ve never quite seen before: they were strong for me when I was weak, they encouraged me and cheered me up each in their own ways, and urged me to get better soon–a command that I tried to obey. They bent over backwards to make sure I had what I needed, and wrote notes, cards, letters. I thank God for them.

As I look forward to running and freerunning again, I know that, at the end of my recovery, I will be a stronger person in heart and mind than before.

God bless you all: and thanks for reading. 🙂