For those who still have yet to hear the news, I wanted to share my thoughts from the past few weeks after breaking my toes in Ecuador last month.
I’m sure you are probably wondering how the whole incident occurred…usually when telling stories one starts at the beginning. I am however, going to throw a curve ball and start in the middle:
A beautiful, cloudy but perfect day at the beach. Bold Radiance and five of our Ecuadorean friends were hanging out for the afternoon and after an hour or so of boogie boarding and laughing in the waves, we decided we wanted to get a game of soccer going on the beach.
Only a few wanted to play so we did three on three. We drew lines in the sand and did the kickoff. Within the first 30 seconds, Jorge and I were fighting for the ball. We both turned to chase it and at the same time collided into each other as my foot came across the back of his ankle.
Jorge used to play on a semi professional team last year. My only consolation with running into a player 10 times better than me was that after we collided, he ended up on the ground and I was still standing…more like hopping around on one foot as we were laughing. I thought I stubbed my toes which were kinda numb, but after looking down to investigate and poke my two middle toes which were at that point raised up and to the side, I casually said while laughing, “no joke guys, but I think I just broke my toes!!”
After Jorge Luis ran up a mountain to get cell service and flag down a car, we hitched a ride to meet up with our hosts. We had two visits to clinics which each turned us away for one reason or another and I finally ended up on a bed behind a curtain in a small dark, one room place which belonged to an old man with no fingers (except a thumb) on his left hand.
I realized rather quickly, as the fingerless man started pulling and twisting my two good toes, that what was to come would not necessarily feel good.
I was not prepared for the pain that was about to ensue.
As he moved up my foot and got to the two injured toes, there was no mercy. He started from my ankle, dug his palm into my foot and started stretching the tendons down my foot and out my toes. For what seemed like ages (but was probably only a few minutes) the fingerless man twisted, pulled, jerked and popped my foot, ankle and especially toes. I was crying and laughing so hard, it was hard to distinguish between the two.
After ending up getting an x-Ray in an official clinic sometime afterward, it was confirmed that both of my toes were not only out of place, but in fact, fractured. I have been smothering them will essential oils and keeping them taped the past few weeks but other than that there is not much else needed, except to overcome the mental struggle of being limited in the things I wish I could do.
Back to the beginning of the story:
Two hours before the incident occurred that day, I stole away down the beach to have some quiet time with the Lord.
He spoke to me so powerfully through the twenty minutes I spent watching a pelican in the ocean. The pelican was flying back and forth right in from of me, looking for food, diving for fish sporadically. He would land in the water and every time a wave would come, he’d have to take flight and stay in the air long enough for it to pass. He was so graceful and beautiful, flying a few feet up and back down as each wave came and passed…time and time again.
I realized that picture was like my life.
Everyday I go out and want to be the person God created me to be, to go deeper with Him. I have a mission.
Everyday the waves come. Sometimes they come in sets, sometimes there is a time of peace…but it is inevitable that they will come. So often we get out in the water, doing our mission and get frustrated and mad about the waves, the obstacles in life.
Watching the pelican, I realized he wasn’t focused on the waves. He saw it, but he had complete attention on the fish – his mission – the purpose for him being out in the water.
Even though the past few weeks have been difficult and yes, I do have broken toes, my spirit is not broken.
Obstacles are inevitable in life.
The waves will come.
How we decide to react to the waves makes the biggest difference in our attitude towards our mission.
What will you choose to do when the waves come?
