It's been almost four weeks since I was playing an innocent game of basketball with some locals in Nicaragua that ended with me limping back to the church where we were staying. I later found out I strained my MCL in my knee and would need to keep it immobilized for three weeks. Back in the States that would mean wearing a large leg brace everyday but being able to take it off every night. But in Nicaragua that means having a huge cast on my leg for three very long weeks.
When you have to stay back from ministry most days because you have a giant cast on your leg, you have a lot of time to yourself. Luckily, I've been learning a lot of good lessons throughout the past almost four weeks.
One major lesson I've been learning is to be more patient. Not with man, but with God. Sometimes I find myself getting so impatient with what He has planned for me after the race that I forget to live in the moment. I know He has amazing plans for my future, and some days I just want to know so bad what they contain.
I've felt the same impatience with God's perfect timing with my leg. There are plenty of days where I would much rather be running around outside with the children that live on the property, but instead I'm sitting on the sidelines. And it's hard not to get frustrated with the lack of mobility that I have and just wanting this cast on my leg to be off immediately.
But God is teaching me to just rest and be patient. Be thankful for every day, whether I can run or not. And even though I can't always leave the property with the rest of my team to participate in ministry, there's plenty I can do by staying back. And by having this injury, I have the opportunity to minister to people that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to really get to know.
Another valuable lesson I'm learning is to allow people to help me. I always knew I was independent, but when I physically can't do some things by myself anymore, it forces me to look towards the people around me for support. My team and squad have been absolutely amazing, and sometimes when I feel like I'm being super needy with something, they are always reminding me that they want to serve me.
But that still doesn't stop me from still trying to push myself to do everything on my own. I wish I could say that was the first obstacle I overcame with my injury, but it's honestly something I'm still working on. Even going on week four of needing extra help, I still try to do a lot by myself on a daily basis. Luckily my teammates have been super patient with me, knowing I still want to do things by myself but knowing when to step in to help me.
That's when having Danae around a lot really helps. She fractured her foot the same night I hurt my knee, but playing volleyball. She now has a cast on her foot for a couple weeks, and struggles with a lot of the same things I do. We usually can tell when the other really needs help and aren't afraid to ask others to help us out. I can't explain how gracious I am to have her to talk to about our daily battles with our stubbornness and loss of independence. God definitely blessed me with an amazing squad mate to go through this with, and I would be struggling a lot more without her positive insights and good spirits.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” -James 1:2-3
