... But God

I am blessed with a beautiful family and friends who continue to sustain me through every season of life. Many of these friends have continued to traverse through difficult seasons with no end in sight. Their faith has been shaken, their spirits are weary, and they just need a respite from the battles they face behind the scenes. Those battles oftentimes leave us breathless. On December 3rd, I fractured my fibula. It is the first major bone I have ever broken. When I was growing up, my younger sister broke her leg, and a VERY impressive story was behind that break. It REALLY was a good one. Many years ago, on an unexpected snowy day in Texas, people could actually do something called "sledding." In a rare Texas sledding accident, she broke her leg. People genuinely felt sorry for her when she told her story. Actually, they felt very sorry for her when I told her story. My sister was very shy, and I was very talkative. I would tell everybody at church, "Yeah. They were sledding down the hill, and got going too fast. They ran into a tree. Her leg snapped." Oh my..she became a legend, a true hero in all social circles. I, on the other hand, did not have an elaborate story to tell about my fractured fibula. It really doesn't take too long to tell my story. I'll go ahead and share it now. I fell in a parking lot. The End. A walking boot, crutches and a knee scooter have slowed me down. They have forced me to pause at a time in my life when pausing was the last possible thing I needed to do. Transitioning out of our normal routines unexpectedly brings sadness, anxiety and fatigue. Over the past week, I almost jumped for joy when my orthopedic surgeon confirmed I could break up with both my scooter AND my crutches. Thank you, Jesus that I didn't jump for joy and fall in the doctor's office. That would also NOT be a good story to tell others. The day after our breakup, I made sure my schedule was full of fun things. At the top of my list was visiting my 101 year old Papaw. Ironically, our mission was to go shoe shopping. I'm not sure how many years ago Papaw might have visited a shoe store, but I can tell you this. This was the shopping trip of a lifetime because he had a VERY efficient shoe sales lady. The shoe sales lady hobbled around one-footed and celebrated her two-footed Papaw. We accomplished the mission in record time as our second mission was to make it back to his assisted living facility no later than 2:59pm. At 3pm, a disco party would begin. Time was passing quickly. The one-legged hobbling lady had to unload the two-footed Papaw, and the dancin' needed to begin. An hour later, as I sat in my car ready to leave, tears streamed down my face. They weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of overwhelming joy. I, like many of you, continue to face many battles behind the scenes. They overwhelm me. ... but God. He meets us in the valley. He provides us hope, courage and faith to persevere. He offers a shimmer of light when we need it the most. His joy fills the space of a 3pm Disco party. ...But God.