I am 8 weeks into this journey with my knee injury and it is time to share some of the lessons I am learning:
1) ASK FOR HELP. To do this I first had to swallow my pride and admit that I needed help. In fact a lot of help. Meals, rides for our daughter, a helper to sit with me each day that my husband was out of town, errands I could not run, and more. I could not have made it through the last 2 months without the help of friends and family. But first I had to be vulnerable and share what our needs are which isn’t always easy.
2) LET LOVE IN. My Bible Study ladies have an expression that goes something like this, “Are you going to let love in or let pride stand in the way?” Easy to say but hard to do. Case in point - several people asked if they could move the group to my house to meet so I could attend since I am housebound. I said no because I was embarrassed about the state of my person (unwashed, sweats, no makeup) and the state of my house (total mess). Pride was keeping me from the prayer, fellowship, hugs and people I needed most. The three weeks they met in my house have been a highlight of my convalescence.
3) BOREDOM IS A CHOICE. The days get really long when you have a choice of two couches where you can sit sideways with your leg elevated. You can only watch so many movies, read so many books, and scan Facebook on your phone so many times before you want to climb the walls. So I chose to sort photos, enter receipts, sort through paper piles, plan menus, write letters and thank you notes, have long conversations with good friends, reconnect with old friends, schedule summer vacations, and read my Bible.
4) A CARD COUNTS. Somewhere along the way I had forgotten just how much a card in the mail means. Until they started landing in my mail box. An old college friend who saw it on facebook, a past coworker who saw an email, a dear aunt who has written me once a week for 5 weeks, friends & school moms, church & Bible Study ladies. I find myself eagerly awaiting the mail each day. It takes so little time to send a card but means so much to the person who receives it. I am ashamed to admit that somewhere along the way I had stopped writing them.
5) RELATIONSHIPS MATTER. God created us to journey through life together. To build relationship we have to invest time and energy into the lives of the people around us. Nothing new here I know but very humbling when you see it in action. Friends who barely had enough time to put a meal on their own table made double and fought rush hour traffic to put a meal on our table as well. Women with packed schedules cleared a spot to be my helper for 4-hour blocks of time. Another friend made multiple trips across town with tools to make my life easier. Tools like a wheelchair, then a leg lift, a grabber, and a special body wash. I could go on and on describing the loving help we have received. My family literally could not have made it through the last 8 weeks without the large number of people who rose up to meet our needs.
Precious Father – Thank you for the lessons I am learning because of my injury. May I always remember to ask for help, let love in, that boredom is a choice, a card counts and relationships matter. Amen.