The Mystery within... |
“There’s a gift in everything.” I heard that this past weekend and I am 99.9% sure it was
from Krista Tippett’s On-Being interview with Nadia Bolz-Weber, “Seeing the Underside and Seeing God: Tattoos, Tradition, and Grace.” I didn’t take notes during the
broadcast because I was just laughing a lot and enjoying the fast moving,
sometimes hilarious, conversation.
If you ever want to lighten up about religion, it is certainly worth a
listen. I heard the broadcast
early Sunday morning, before I sprained my knee in the late afternoon, when
grandchildren and their parents were coming for a light supper and then trick
or treating in my neighborhood. As
I hobbled around my kitchen in significant pain getting food together, and
later resorted to my old crutches, I wondered where’s the gift in my
injury? Just anticipating that
there will be one helped me be more accepting of the pain.
I think there is more than just one gift coming my way. To start with I am aware of a deeper
sense of gratitude for all that I can still do. First, it is my left knee that is affected which allows me
to still be able to drive my car.
Second, I already had an acupuncture appointment for today and have
gotten some relief and homeopathic remedies. Third, I was on two crutches last night and today, just
one. Fourth, cars and people stop
for an old lady on a crutch.
Fifth, the staining and varnishing I had to do before my front window
replacement could be installed is behind me, and the remaining interior
grillwork can wait. Six, some
leaves are already raked and maybe I’ll be well enough to do it again before
the last leaf pick-up and final mowing.
Seven, I have plenty of food in the house. Eight, it is a reminder that I can’t slack off on biking, outside
or inside, if I am to keep my knees strong. Nine, if I don’t heal sufficiently, this could be the final
push I need to go for a knee replacement OR maybe I broke sufficient old scar
tissue to eventually give me more mobility. Ten, I could sit and put my feet up and laugh more reading
Nadia Bolz-Weber’s book “Pastrix: the cranky, beautiful, faith of a sinner and saint” with an opening line that was said to be unfit for public radio.
This isn’t the first time I sprained this knee. In “God Never Hurries” I recount a
previous injury when I questioned God, “Why now? At this most inconvenient time! Days later several answers came…”
Now I just wish I could find some blessings for my yellow
lab, Oliver, who can’t understand why were not going for our daily walk.
What if we all really looked for the gift in everything?