When I was in college back in the fall of 1979, one of the courses that was required was MI-10 Introduction to Missions. At that time, I remember thinking, "Wow...I'm sure glad that I just have to take this class and not really do anything about it. I'm glad that God is calling others to do this and not me."
My thinking has changed. Now it's not a matter of it being someone else, or if God wants me to be involved, it's how and when. The Lord has corrected my view of missions and what He desires for all of us to do. Don't let yourself off the hook easily. Don't pander to the cop out of "...that's for others to do".
Yes, all of us my not go. But, what is keeping you from going? Is it a God-thing for you to stay home or is it a "me" thing? If you aren't going, then you need to be giving and sending others. Become involved. The needs are trememdous...the cause is an eternal destination and the rewards are out of this world!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Life Applications from an Injured Ankle
One week ago today my 17 year old daughter, Kelsey, was preparing for the first home volleyball match of their young season. The team had begun the season playing well and was learning how to adjust and learn from their mistakes on the fly. They were beginning to really play as a team, so excitement was in the air, especially for Kelsey in her senior season. But then, something unexpected happened.
About a year ago, while playing volleyball, Kelsey had severely sprained her ankle and it hasn't been the same sense. And this was the day, when that issue would crop up, again. While putting on her sweat pants, she jumped into the air as we sometimes do when attempting to get our feet all the way through the pant leg. When she came down, though, her ankle gave way and she crumpled to the floor in pain. I was upstairs and soon heard Kelsey's agonizing cries and the pleas of help from her younger sister, Kayla, for me to come down and do something. When I got downstairs and was told what had happened, we immediately put ice on her ankle but I could tell from her cries and the pain that she was in that volleyball would not be a possibility for Kelsey for that night...and perhaps, much longer.
She didn't play that night and the next morning my dear wife, Beth, took Kelsey to the doctor. When the xrays came back the doctor said that it looked like a hairline fracture and most likely, she would be in a cast for a while--and that volleyball was out for this season. You can imagine the disappointment that Kelsey felt...not being able to play and help her team during her senior year. As a father, I had compassion for Kelsey and told her sorry I was for this great disappointment. I also wanted to encourage her to continue to be there for her team and to learn from this experience while watching from the bench. Who knew how God might be able to use this in her future and how it might open up opportunities down the road.
I'm sure by now, that you can see some parallels for the Christian life:
1. Often, we are injured--by mistakes that we make or by something someone else does to us or simply by the disapointment of our expectations. And, just like Kelsey's ankle, if the injury isn't completely healed, that pain can crop up again in unexpected ways. Someone might say something that in and of itself was not meant to harm or hurt, but the memory of that previous experience can be a puncture wound to the heart.
2. We want to help those in pain and being there is important. We need to realize, though, that pain is part of life and the growing process. If we could remove the pain or relieve it, we probalby would try, just like I wanted to remove both the physical and emotional pain that Kelsey was feeling. But, I couldn't. Her ankle was injured and needed time to heal. Along with the physical pain was the real emotional pain of not playing volleyball for her senior season.
James MacDonald of "Walk in the Word" said this, just thir morning on his program:
"There is a quality of life that is deeper than avoiding every pain. It's about finding God faithful even in the thorns of life." How true that is and how timely for us all to remember when we get hurt.
Now, my name is not O'Henry, the author who would usually have suprise endings to his stories, but I do have a different ending to this blog post than you might expect. By Thursday afternoon, the day before the volleyball schedule showed a tournament to be played in Cedar Rapids, Kelsey was actually walking around on her foot almost normally. The doctor had decided to wait until Thursday to put the cast on so that the swelling could go down. When we realized that Kelsey was doing more on her ankle than we expected, we called the doctor's office back. After our call, the doctor conferred with another physician and they then concluded that the xrays were not conclusive. In other words, there might be a fracture there or there might not be. So, they were going to leave it up to us to decide what should be done next. Hmmm...
We prayed and then spoke with Kelsey's coach, Kal, and game up with a plan of action. None of us wanted Kelsey to do more damage to her ankle and yet we also saw how well she was moving around and desired, if possible, for her to be involved in the upcoming tournament and the rest of the season. So, we decided that she could warm up with the team Friday evening and then depending upon how she was moving around on Saturday morning, potentially play in one or more of the matches.
Well, to keep a long story from being longer, I want you to know that Kelsey did warm up Friday night, and yes, she played on Saturday. Not only did she play some on Saturday, but she served the final point in the game which clinched third place for her team. God had done something that we certainly couldn't have anticipated less than a week earlier. In fact here is a short video from one of the earlier matches in which Kelsey played (she wears number 7).
As for spiritual correlations, let me say this: God allows pain in our lives for a reson--and He gives grace to see us through the pain. He also heals that pain and desires to give us more than we can ask or imagine. We are so thankful to our great God for victories...yes...and for injuries, because often, they are the best teachers.
One more picture for you--this is the team with their 3rd place trophy!
About a year ago, while playing volleyball, Kelsey had severely sprained her ankle and it hasn't been the same sense. And this was the day, when that issue would crop up, again. While putting on her sweat pants, she jumped into the air as we sometimes do when attempting to get our feet all the way through the pant leg. When she came down, though, her ankle gave way and she crumpled to the floor in pain. I was upstairs and soon heard Kelsey's agonizing cries and the pleas of help from her younger sister, Kayla, for me to come down and do something. When I got downstairs and was told what had happened, we immediately put ice on her ankle but I could tell from her cries and the pain that she was in that volleyball would not be a possibility for Kelsey for that night...and perhaps, much longer.
She didn't play that night and the next morning my dear wife, Beth, took Kelsey to the doctor. When the xrays came back the doctor said that it looked like a hairline fracture and most likely, she would be in a cast for a while--and that volleyball was out for this season. You can imagine the disappointment that Kelsey felt...not being able to play and help her team during her senior year. As a father, I had compassion for Kelsey and told her sorry I was for this great disappointment. I also wanted to encourage her to continue to be there for her team and to learn from this experience while watching from the bench. Who knew how God might be able to use this in her future and how it might open up opportunities down the road.
I'm sure by now, that you can see some parallels for the Christian life:
1. Often, we are injured--by mistakes that we make or by something someone else does to us or simply by the disapointment of our expectations. And, just like Kelsey's ankle, if the injury isn't completely healed, that pain can crop up again in unexpected ways. Someone might say something that in and of itself was not meant to harm or hurt, but the memory of that previous experience can be a puncture wound to the heart.
2. We want to help those in pain and being there is important. We need to realize, though, that pain is part of life and the growing process. If we could remove the pain or relieve it, we probalby would try, just like I wanted to remove both the physical and emotional pain that Kelsey was feeling. But, I couldn't. Her ankle was injured and needed time to heal. Along with the physical pain was the real emotional pain of not playing volleyball for her senior season.
James MacDonald of "Walk in the Word" said this, just thir morning on his program:
"There is a quality of life that is deeper than avoiding every pain. It's about finding God faithful even in the thorns of life." How true that is and how timely for us all to remember when we get hurt.
Now, my name is not O'Henry, the author who would usually have suprise endings to his stories, but I do have a different ending to this blog post than you might expect. By Thursday afternoon, the day before the volleyball schedule showed a tournament to be played in Cedar Rapids, Kelsey was actually walking around on her foot almost normally. The doctor had decided to wait until Thursday to put the cast on so that the swelling could go down. When we realized that Kelsey was doing more on her ankle than we expected, we called the doctor's office back. After our call, the doctor conferred with another physician and they then concluded that the xrays were not conclusive. In other words, there might be a fracture there or there might not be. So, they were going to leave it up to us to decide what should be done next. Hmmm...
We prayed and then spoke with Kelsey's coach, Kal, and game up with a plan of action. None of us wanted Kelsey to do more damage to her ankle and yet we also saw how well she was moving around and desired, if possible, for her to be involved in the upcoming tournament and the rest of the season. So, we decided that she could warm up with the team Friday evening and then depending upon how she was moving around on Saturday morning, potentially play in one or more of the matches.
Well, to keep a long story from being longer, I want you to know that Kelsey did warm up Friday night, and yes, she played on Saturday. Not only did she play some on Saturday, but she served the final point in the game which clinched third place for her team. God had done something that we certainly couldn't have anticipated less than a week earlier. In fact here is a short video from one of the earlier matches in which Kelsey played (she wears number 7).
As for spiritual correlations, let me say this: God allows pain in our lives for a reson--and He gives grace to see us through the pain. He also heals that pain and desires to give us more than we can ask or imagine. We are so thankful to our great God for victories...yes...and for injuries, because often, they are the best teachers.
One more picture for you--this is the team with their 3rd place trophy!
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