Life with a Broken Limb

Life with a broken limb…it changes everything. 

The waters of chaos instantly engulfed us after our 6 year old broke her leg. 

The excruciating pain, the 3 trips to the ER, the helplessness of hearing her scream and not being able to fix it.  It was all too much.

For the first several nights, none of us slept.  How do you sleep when the child beside you is crying and rything in pain?

Two whole days passed before a permanent cast made it’s way onto her leg. It would be 8 days before she could get herself to the bathroom or sit up to take a drink.  

I was falling down the deep dark pit of despair, a pit I have known all too well. A pit that has but one way out. 

And that way is to count.

Count the moments.  Count the blessings.  Count the ways God reveals himself.

Counting is the only remedy for traversing the depths of of darkness and it is the only remedy which promises a way out.

So reluctantly,  I began to count….

Clean sheets.  The mundane task of washing bed linens suddenly became a gift.  I washed away a weeks worth of sweat and tears the same way Jesus washes me.  But only he does it everyday. A glimpse of holiness in the mundane tasks of servants.

Seeing her need him.

The excruciating pain had kept her isolated. Now all she wanted was his skin next to hers.  In God’s mysterious ways, he made us to need each other.

The way he crossed his legs as he sat on her lap. 

He was content to simple be with her. The way our hearts were made to be content with Jesus.

It was laughter shared with a friend.

Nothing tears down the walls of sorrow quite like laughter.

The chance to wash her hair. 

And the double blessing of her asking me to do it again!

And it was walking outside in my pajamas, cursing the fact that I had to take the trash out.  (a husband with two broken ribs is so unconvient!)

And despite my propensity for wallowing in distain for the daily grind, God still chose to reveal himself.

The early blooms of a spring renewal. The hope of change revealed just for me.

Counting the blessings.  Counting God sightings in the mundance tasks.  Counting thanks.

We are no better than a broken limb if we do not learn to count.