Update:
I got home about 12:30 a.m. and settled into bed by 1:30 a.m. after
riding with the police on Wednesday night; so I slept in on Thursday morning in
order to get over seven hours of sleep.
I worked on emails (personal, church, and medical) after sending out the
Update/Thoughts. I did my floor
exercises (pushups, bridges, planks, leg lifts, crunches, etc.). Then I gave myself a haircut and
showered. I ate the rest of the leftover
chili and carrots for an early lunch and then headed to my church office to
work.
One of my emails was to my physical therapist asking how to get laundry
up and down the stairs from the basement.
Going up stairs, I can place the basket a few stairs ahead of me and
then walk up behind it. Then I lift the
basket up a few more stairs and repeat the process. Going down stairs with laundry is much more
difficult. Nothing that I’ve tried has
felt comfortable or safe. Randy, my
therapist, suggested using a laundry bag with a strap so that I carry it on my
back and have my hands free and not be so off balanced. My old army duffle bag should do the
trick! It is amazing what I took for
granted prior to my amputation that I now have to figure out how to do. The simplest tasks can be great challenges
until you figure out the trick to doing them.
One of the things that I have found is that if I put my leg on slightly
canted in or out (slightly pigeon-toed or duck-foot) it is really painful on
one of the bones in my leg when I stand up.
It looks correct sitting down and when I stand up—Ouch! It is a bit frustrating to get all dressed
and ready to go only to find out that I have to stop and tear my leg apart and
reposition everything. When it is right
it feels good; when it doesn’t—it is time to adjust or figure out what’s wrong. Trying to “tough it out” or ignoring it isn’t
an option because I can quickly develop a sore or injure myself and then be
stuck back in the wheelchair while I heal.
Having to listen to your body just isn’t a guy kind of thing to do; but
I’m learning.
At church, working on my message and preparing the wedding service were
my priorities for the afternoon. I
completed the wedding preparation—we’ll see how many changes are made at the
rehearsal this afternoon. And I have a
good idea where the message for the next couple of weeks is headed—so I am
making progress.
On Thursday evening Karen and I were able to eat a meal together for
the first time since Wednesday breakfast.
After dinner, she was off to help my youngest son studied his advanced
algebra and I watched a bit of TV and got to bed before 10 p.m.
If the weather forecast is right, on Friday morning I’ll get my
motorcycle out of the garage and ride around Fall Creek in order to get a feel
for riding with my prosthetic leg and my new heel-toe shifter. The new shifter extends back far enough that
it will make digging the kick stand out a bit harder, especially with an ankle
that can’t extend my toes. I’ll figure
it out and with some practice begin to feel comfortable with all the changes.
The rest of the morning and afternoon will be spent at the church
working on my message for Sunday and holding the wedding rehearsal.
Thought for the Day:
I’ve been told to never pray for patience because God will give you
plenty of exasperating experiences in order to practice it.
We’ve become very impatient as a society. We want fast food, fast service, quick
answers, and a speedy response to every request. Delays often result in a person becoming
angry. We expect everyone to be early to
appointments and for airplane flights to never be delayed. Waiting two minutes for food in the microwave
is exasperating. Standing in line in the
grocery store is intolerable. A package which
fails to be delivered on the day it was promised is a cause for extreme
distress. Being put on hold by the
service representative is like a life sentence in jail. Oh, and we want God to answer every one of
our prayers five minutes before we ask.
A favorite cartoon on patience shows two women walking to their cars
after Sunday worship. The first woman
says, “That was a great sermon on patience.”
Her friend answers, “Yeah, but he went five minutes long.”
I’ve found that driving from Fall Creek to Eau Claire on Hwy. 12 (ten
miles of two lanes) can be an opportunity for patience. It seems that if you are running a bit behind
schedule, you can be assured of getting stuck behind someone going 5 MPH under
the speed limit without an opportunity to pass.
Think about this selection of bible verses on patience:
Proverbs 15:18 “A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but
a patient man calms a quarrel.”
Proverbs 19:11 “A
man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an
offense.”
Ecclesiastes 7:8 “The end
of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better
than pride.”
Colossians 3:12 “Therefore, as God's chosen
people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
Revelation 14:12 “This calls for patient endurance on
the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and
remain faithful to Jesus.”
Patience is a lost virtue for many in our society. Think of what the lack of patience can
bring. A parent can verbally destroy a
child for acting like a child. Drivers
commit road rage. People’s blood
pressure sky-rockets and stomach acid begins to burn. Joy and happiness are removed from our lives.
“The more patient you are, the more accepting you will be of what is,
rather than insisting that life be exactly as you would like it to be. Without patience, life is extremely
frustrating. You are easily annoyed,
bothered, and irritated. Patience adds a
dimension of ease and acceptance to your life.
It’s essential for inner peace.” [Richard Carlson, Don’t Sweat the Small
Stuff…and it’s all small stuff].
Think about what causes us to be impatient. It is all external things that happen to
us. These things are usually outside of
our direct control. They tend to be
things that inconvenience us. Is it
really worth all of the emotional drama?
Prior to my amputation I was a fairly inpatient person. There is nothing like being in the hospital
that rips all semblance of control out of your hands. Having to wait for other people to do
everything for you teaches patience.
Sometimes I wasn’t the best student.
Early on, when Karen first went back to work and left me at home all
day, the moment she walked back into the house I’d have a list of things that I
wanted from upstairs (out of reach) and that were impossible for me to do by
myself. I almost assaulted her with my
lists every day. Eventually I calmed
down (some) and acquired a more patient mindset.
Being out of control of our lives is very disturbing. I think that most displays of impatience are
the result of us discovering that we really aren’t in control of life. We don’t control others and we cannot control
circumstances no matter how hard we try to create the perfect, ordered life.
The answer is not for us to seek to exert tighter control over
everything and everyone around us. The
answer is to learn to relax. To let
go. To accept life as it comes at
us. To choose to be at peace instead of
going to pieces.
I am certainly not perfect at this; but I continue to strive to be
patient and to not let delays and inconveniences determine my attitude and my
happiness. No one can cause us to become
upset—we allow others and other things to do that to us; but our attitude
remains our choice. How will I respond
to life’s inconveniences today?
My recommendation to you: “Chillax,
bro!” Take a deep, calming breath and
let all that anger and emotion go. Life
isn’t going to bend to your desires anyway; so be flexible and allow yourself
to be at peace with whatever life brings your way. Chill.
Relax.
Romans 12:12 “Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in
prayer.”
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