Slowing Down

If you are an active person it is tough to slow down.  My shoulder blade was broken in the middle of February and here it is nearing May and I still can’t do all the things I want to do.  As a matter of fact, the bone hasn’t even fully healed so I can’t even start physiotherapy.  My life has slowed down.

It is strange to be less active than normal.  It was strange to watch Sandra go skiing with our friends while I stayed home.  It is strange to have to ask for help to do rather simple tasks because I can’t lift anything heavy unless I can do it with one arm.  When things suddenly change, what do you do?  I guess you can get angry, or depressed or go into fits of rage.  In my case, I haven’t done any of those things.  I have simply slowed down and am taking it easy.  I have managed to adjust and I am happy.  Yes, I am looking forward to when things are back to normal.  I am looking forward to being able to start physiotherapy.  I have faced the fact there won’t be any overnight backpacking trips this summer, but that’s okay, I’ll go on day hikes this year. 

You know what, Jesus knows all about my broken shoulder and He is in control.  I am happy to be His child and trust Him with each day.  I really am content and joyous, not angry or frustrated.  That, certainly, is the Holy Spirit working in me, not my usual nature.  And I am truly thankful to not be in pain, another answer to prayer.

The Unexpected

Life flows gently along, everything passes as it normally does, then, suddenly, the unexpected happens.  Everything changes.  It may be good, it may be bad, maybe it’s just different.  In those totally, unexpected moments, what do you do?  How do you feel?

I had an accident while skiing in February.  No, I didn’t fall, I didn’t do anything.  I was teaching a ski lesson when an out-of-control snowboarder slammed into me from behind.  I was instantly thrown into the air and before I knew it was on the ground, immobile.  I couldn’t breathe.  There was so much pain.  It took place so fast I wasn’t even sure what had happened.  A trip down the mountain on a backboard in a toboggan, an ambulance ride, hours in an emergency ward.  X-rays, a CT scan, doctors appointments.  A broken scapula (shoulder) and many cracked ribs.  Bruises everywhere.  I hurt.  But surprisingly I was happy, joyous.  I was still alive.  I didn’t have a broken back as everyone thought at first.  I was not paralysed.  I will heal, I will have months of physiotherapy, but I will be okay.  God is good.

How do we see life?  Are we victims of circumstance? Victims of all that happens around us?  Or do we let the Lord Jesus use everything for His glory.  Do we praise Him for each breath we take?  I don’t like pain, I don’t like the thought of months of therapy, but I am thankful I am still walking and thank the Lord for protecting me from worse injury.  He is always good.  He is our tender Shepherd.

Winter Storms

We're away from home, a long away.  Warm, rainy, no snow, no cold.  At home it is snowing, blowing and cold.  Our adult daughter is at home, going to and from work in the snow.  She's looking after the house and having to shovel snow morning and night to keep up with it.  To be honest, I would rather be home, enjoying the skiing, even shovelling the snow.  I love snow.

Okay, so I’m a bit strange, loving snow and cold.  But I do.  Everyone’s different and I am a winter lover.  I am one of those people who tolerate summer but live for winter.  There are a few of us around!  Others want a nice, sunny, warm winter vacation in the tropics.  I want a nice, snowy winter vacation at a ski resort.  If I have to go to the tropics, let it be in May or June. 

Right now work has taken me a long way south, but at home it is freezing cold.  I feel for our daughter who is shovelling snow, driving in deep snow and suffering in frigid temperatures.  I am a bit concerned for her and for our house.  We live in a place where it doesn’t usually get very cold so the house isn’t as well insulated as are homes in other parts of Canada.  I’m thousands of kilometres away so all I can do is leave everything in the hands of my wonderful Lord.  What a great place to leave all my cares and concerns.

A Christmas Cold

I have a Christmas Cold.  No, I’m not cold because it is cold outside, I have a cold.  A terrible cold.  My throat is sore and my nose is running.  I imagine I am not very fun to be around right now.  But I’ll get through it.  Lots of hot tea, lots of juice, some chicken soup.  I’ve had them all during the last few days.  I’ll be fine by Christmas Day, but right now I don’t feel very joyous.

I usually am joyous at this time of year.  Christmas is a time of joy for Christians.  We celebrate the birth of Jesus our Saviour.  We pause and remember His birth, His life and His sacrificial death on the cross to make atonement for our sins.  The actual word for what Jesus did for us is “propitiation” but that doesn’t seem to show up in many modern translations of the Bible.  But it is a great word.  Look it up in a dictionary and see for yourself.

Our family celebrates Christmas.  The real Christmas, the birth of Jesus.  We buy presents for each other, we put up a Christmas tree, we have family dinners, we go to Christmas parties, but we make sure the true meaning of Christmas doesn’t get lost in all the activity.  It’s Jesus’ birthday.

Merry Christmas.  Let Jesus be the star who shines in your life.