When Life Throws You a Curve

Lookout Mountain, Huntsville, ON
One step from the car was all I dared to do!

I can think of many pleasant ways I could have ended this past busy work week: dinner with friends, a movie (if there’s one worth watching these days!), or enjoying an evening with my husband who had just returned home from a ten-day visit with our son in BC. And since the flip of the calendar welcomes not only a new month but sees me celebrating my birthday, I can also think of much more pleasurable ways to end a decade of my life than a visit to the emergency room at our local hospital.

But that’s where Saturday found me.

I broke my foot early on Friday morning, stumbling over a small piece of asphalt in the driveway at work. Never thinking it was broken—I mean, really, a small piece of asphalt!—I spent the day at work nestling my foot in a bag of ice that melted too quickly and hobbling around the sales centre where I work believing I would walk the sprain off. After a painful night, Doug and I visited emerge at seven in the morning. By nine, I was back at home in an air boot that will be my extended appendage for five or six weeks.

Our plans to spend the weekend at our trailer with friends, Ken and Trena, whom we haven’t seen in over three years, remained the same. I was going no matter what! And go we did, but I was not prepared for how limited my movements would be and how difficult it was to sit with my foot elevated while my friend, Trena prepared meals, cleaned up afterwards and fulfilled her nursing abilities making sure I was comfortable. I would much rather have been walking through the dried leaves enjoying God’s handiwork of red, orange and yellow than propping my foot up and taking extra strength Tylenol.

That first night when I couldn’t sleep because of the pain and the inability to get comfortable with a huge boot on, I kept saying to myself, “I wish I’d walked a different way. I wish I’d worn my flat shoes instead of my cork sandals. I wish…” and my night was filled with the merry-go-round of wishful thinking. Obviously this got me nowhere. I still had a broken foot and I still had an air boot on and I still had to face the fact that some things that I’d planned on doing would have to be altered. How annoying is that! After all, I’m a busy woman! Things to do! Places to go! People to meet! Of course, I’m joking, but I do have a busy month ahead and having a broken foot is definitely not part of my plans.

So now what? How do I handle this curve that life has thrown at me? What is God teaching me through this inconvenience?

Henri Nouwen a great writer on Christian spirituality was given a piece of advice that would serve me well if I followed it: “The issue is not where you are, but how you live wherever you are.”

Hmmm…

Trying very hard not to feel sorry for myself, I also remembered the scripture verse in Proverbs 16:9,”In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Well, since God never makes mistakes, His plan for me must have included my tripping and breaking a bone in my foot and altering my plans somewhat.

I will still celebrate my birthday today even being at home on crutches and less mobile. After all, today is a milestone in my life and air boot or not, I plan to kick up my heels…well, maybe not literally, but I will celebrate.

The sun is shining, the fog has lifted and I am a day/year older. Now, that’s worth celebrating!