“I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” Psalm 16:8
If any season during this 11 month journey should have left me shaken, it would be the one I entered last week. I slipped and fell directly on my elbow. As the minutes passed, my elbow began to swell and I was soon unable to move my arm.
The thoughts in my mind kept me awake more so than the injury itself. “Is it actually broken? Maybe it’s not as bad as it seems,” I reasoned with myself throughout the night. Then, as pain came in waves, my optimism would fade. Thoughts of this injury ending my Race came to mind. The idea of leaving the ministry, community, and cultures I have come to love over the last nine months left me in a place of uncertainty unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced.
A visit to a local hospital and conversations with my family doctor confirmed my arm was fractured. With my arm in a cast, I left the hospital with orders to rest my arm and to remain in a cast for one month. Surgery is not necessary, and I was relieved that I will be able to finish this race.
The following day I had to stay home from ministry because of my injured arm. As my team chopped wood for a woman in our village and played soccer with the kids, I laid in bed looking at the cast stretching from my knuckles to my shoulder. I questioned if I would be able to experience my race in the same incredible ways again. I wondered if I would be able to contribute to ministry and my team.
God responded to these thoughts with an incredible amount of peace and truth. He reminded me of all the experiences I hold dear from the Race, the ones I’ll remember forever. After filling an entire page in my journal, I read the list.
Teaching in Botswana. Singing with Ezra in India. Making friends at a hospice home in Swaziland. Worshiping with G Squad. Witnessing God’s creation. Incredible conversations. Laughter. And much more.
I quickly realized that a broken arm wouldn’t have excluded me from the things listed above, nor would it have stopped me from experiencing them to the fullest.
His Truth continues to pour into my heart when I read Psalm 16 (read here). Since God goes before me and is also by my side, no circumstance can shake me. It’s impossible. The man I am depends on nothing else other than who I am in His eyes. He will continue to work in my life in incredible ways despite any injury or disappointment I my face.
His presence is still my only source of joy, He continues to guide me each day, and He is faithful to His promises as always. And even though this week has left me broken, I’ll never be shaken.
