Saturday, January 5, 2008

Me? Adjust?!

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. John 14:27 (NLT)

When I was in the fifth grade, I fell and broke my right arm. For six weeks I had to do all my schoolwork orally since I could not write. Good thing I can spell! The inconvenience of those weeks is only a vague memory because 50 years erases so much. Next week I am having surgery on my right hand due to some degenerative arthritis in the area above the thumb. I will be in a heavy bandage for a week and then a removable brace for another 6 weeks. For the proper healing, I won't be able to do the pinching movement with my right thumb. Think what that means. I am tired of the pain so the surgery is my choice, but not being able to do even the simplest of chores looms as a real problem. How am I going to do my hair? Make-up? Dress? Eat? Write? Computer? Drive? You know…those important things in life. I believe the loss of my independence is what I dread the most because I am a pretty independent person. My dear husband has cheerfully announced that he will take care of me. I know that he will be there but he has a life, too, and I am going to feel pretty silly asking for help all the time. It is going to take a lot of patience on both of our parts to endure the next few weeks. The normal expectations for living will need to be put aside for a bit in order to not spend the whole time frustrated. I am going to have to learn to adjust which is probably a very good lesson. Independence, control, patience, frustration…all these words go together when we decide we are in charge of our world. But what does God say? He gives us peace of mind and heart because He is in control. In fact, we can't get it any other way. OK – no more fretting. I'll let you know how it goes.

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