Update:
I finished my sermon on Friday afternoon but found it was too long and
needed some editing. I find editing my
own work very difficult when I have a solid message prepared and then have to
whittle away at it. Saturday was a
workday at church but since I was confined to the wheelchair I could not physically
help. I decided to go to the church and
work on my message so that I could be around the guys working anyway. I’d roll outside every so often and see how
the construction was going before heading back inside. I ate lunch with the work crew and enjoyed
the friendly banter. After I finished
working on my message, I was going to head home but just couldn’t tear myself
away from watching so I stayed while they worked. Eventually they moved around to the back side
of the church to put the stud walls up on that addition. I couldn’t get back there in my wheelchair so
I drove my truck around back and sat in the truck watching. Oh how I longed to be out there helping; but
until my leg heals I’m on the sidelines watching.
Sunday went well. I preached and
led the communion service from my wheelchair.
It worked fine but I can’t wait to get walking again. I am grateful for the wheelchair but I long
for the prosthetic leg! I am not certain
how much longer it will take for my leg to heal. It has been one week so far—I expect it will
take at least one more week before I can don the leg again. Patience is such a difficult thing to wait
for! LMLO (Laughing My Leg Off)! Even if no one else likes my humor—I crack
myself up!
On Monday I got my exercises done and the laundry folded that Karen had
done for me. Like watching other people
shovel snow for me this past winter, it really bothers me to not be able to do
my own laundry. Kind of weird but I look
forward to be able to do that for myself again soon. I think it has to do with feeling independent
and self-sufficient as much as possible.
For instance if I am out in the wheelchair, I would much rather propel
myself than have someone push me. When
it comes to loading my wheelchair into my truck, I would rather do it myself
than allow someone else to do it. I know
people want to be helpful and are trying to be considerate; but if I am able to
do it on my own; I want to do it on my own.
I think it is bound up in self-confidence and self-image. A part of my life was taken from me and this
is small way in which I can take back a little bit of control in my life. That’s why I’ll keep pushing the limits and
see what I am able to do and accomplish.
It’s a healthy thing. There is no
reason for me to remain dependent upon others to do for me what I could do for
myself.
Later on Monday morning my son, Jon, came over and we worked on the
dead refrigerator together. After
watching a few on-line videos and doing some diagnostic work, we took a trip
into Radio Shack for about $8 in parts.
Within an hour or so we breathed new life into the broken fridge! According to what we read on-line we just
saved about $400 on parts and labor.
Cool! That’s how I’m feeling and
how the fridge feels now too! It was
really nice to get the extra fridge out of the kitchen. It took up a lot of room and made using my
wheelchair much more difficult with two refrigerators in the kitchen. I can easily reach the light switch again and
I have the work table made for my wheelchair back where it belongs now too.
Thought for the Day:
I found this quote touched my heart powerfully:
“Evil is defeated because God
uses it to bring about the very opposite—courage, faithfulness, selfless
sacrifice, forgiveness.” [Timothy
Keller, Walking With God through Pain and Suffering].
When I read what Keller wrote, it caused me to think of all the
adversity that I have seen in the world and how so many people rise above the
adversity they face and are better people for it. War, by all accounts is an ugly, terrible
evil; yet in the midst of evil, men will rise to challenge of sacrificing
themselves to save their comrades. Every
day I read posts from my fellow amputees and am constantly amazed at how this
event has propelled them to reach deep down inside themselves so as to not let
it limit or define them as people. When
we have been mistreated by someone we trust and care for and yet turn around
and forgive that person for their trespass against us, once again we see this
truth in action.
Every day normal people are placed in situations which could break them,
or with the right attitude, to define or make them in a positive manner. Our most difficult moments may prove to be
our finest hour, if we respond in a constructive manner against all odds.
I don’t want my circumstances to define me and control me. I want to go beyond what other people expect
of me and rise above what is happening around me. The greater adversity that we face, the
greater the glory if we succeed against all odds. And for a Christian the glory doesn’t belong
to him or her, it belongs to God who has strengthened and enabled the person to
respond in such a fashion.
In a very famous speech given to the House of Commons on June 18, 1940
by Winston Churchill, he describes the danger, the sacrifice, and the necessity
for England to win the battle against Nazi Germany. He concludes his speech with this well-known line,
“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if
the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will
still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’”
Let it be said of us that when we faced demanding, discouraging times
that we rose to the challenge and made a gallant effort against whatever we
faced. We may not always be victorious;
but we should go down like champions should we fail. Let it be said of each one
of us, “This was their finest hour.”
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