Lessons From a Sprained Ankle
Thursday, August 31, 2017
On Saturday I got home from a two week excursion in Scotland with my best friend and her mom. It was my first time leaving the continent of North America, experiencing jet lag, and experiencing the struggle of trying to sleep on a red-eye flight. It's safe to say though, that up until this point in my life, that was the most amazing trip I've ever gone on!
On the third day of our trip, we decided to trek out to Grey Mare's Tail, which is a waterfall about half an hour from the small town of Moffat that we stayed in. It's not one of those waterfalls that's right there. You have to climb a mountain... hill... thing. My best friend and I had a hard time determining what constitutes a mountain. It was big, okay?! While we were climbing our way up the stone stairs, we met a woman who told us that if we wanted to hike all the way to the waterfall, it would take about an hour and a half. We were only about a quarter of the way up at that point, and our lungs were on fire and our thighs were burning, so we knew we weren't going to go all the way to the top.
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| The view from our backyard in Moffat, Scotland. |
We stayed at that one quarter of the way up point because we could see the waterfall in the distance from there, took some pictures and selfies, and then started our hike back down to the car.
'It's always easier going down than up...' is what I had been reminding myself as we had climbed the hill-mountain-thing.
At least that's what they say.
The stone stairs were narrow, so it was suggested that I walk down the hill-mountain-thing instead of staying on the stairs.
Bad idea, fam. Baaaad idea.
I don't remember much, other than walking one moment, and the next being on the ground with excruciating pain in my right leg, from my foot up to my knee. I'd also heard a crack as I fell, as did my best friend, who was a good meter or two ahead of me.
Nice.
I was sitting on the ground with my best friend and her mom standing over me, none of us really knowing what to do. I was trying not to cry, scream, throw up, or pass out. And I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that my parents were a six and a half hour flight away from me.
While I was sitting there, wondering how I'd continue to make it back down to the car, I thought to myself 'Welp. I think I just broke my leg on a mountain. In Scotland. At least this can't really get any worse.'
I WAS WRONG.
Legitimately, at that very moment, it started to rain!!!
Great.
(No exaggerations here btw - this is all real. It felt [and sounds] like a movie scene.)
Anyway, blah blah blah, fast forward. I got down the hill-mountain-thing, went to the cottage hospital in our town, went to the local surgery (UK for doctor's office), aaand ended up being diagnosed with a severely sprained ankle.
Through all of this however, I've learned something. Two things, really. Or three.
Firstly, God can use any situation to teach His children a lesson. He's got a sense of humour like that. I've learned something from my sprained ankle. Amazing.
Secondly, I've learned not to fall down mountainsides. Ever. It's something that your friends and family will remind you of at every possible opportunity. Plus it's painful.
The third lesson that I've learned through this experience is that sometimes I need to slow down. And I don't mean when I was going down the hill-mountain-thing; I was already walking pretty slowly, thankyouverymuch.
For the rest of our vacation, I had to admit when I was in pain and needed to walk (limp) slower, or when I needed to take a rest day so my ankle could have a break before going on another Scotland adventure. And I hated having to be the weakest link, and having to admit my weakness. But it was so necessary - for well-being of my ankle.
This whooole situation has reminded me that we can often get so busy and fill our schedules completely and we end up having no time to spend time with the Lord, or to take care of ourselves. I can be so guilty of this, especially when the school year starts (aka on Monday).
To conclude this rollercoaster of a blog post, I'm promising myself that I will learn how to slow down this coming year at school. I'm going to be taking classes (duh), working in the library, preparing for my graduation recital in the spring, and doing my internship. I don't want my final year of Bible college to be spent stressing out and being spread so thin that I neglect my relationship with God, my mental health, my sanity, and my friendships.
I know that slowing down is going to be a process, and something that I'll have to remind myself to do, but my sprained ankle that's still currently hurting is serving as a constant reminder of this commitment to myself. Hopefully it'll heal soon though, and at that point, I'll be relying on friends and the grace of the Lord to remind me of how necessary it is to slow down.
What Defines You?
Sunday, August 13, 2017
I'm grateful for my blog because it gives me a platform in which I can rant if I so choose.
And today I so choose.
I've seen a lot of posts on Twitter recently saying things along the lines of "Sometimes I feel pretty, but then I see girls who are actually pretty on my timeline..."
I hate that.
Being someone who for so long believed she wasn't pretty enough or wasn't good enough, seeing posts on social media like that is heartbreaking! And those posts have so many likes, comments, shares, retweets. It's awful!
Who has set the standard for who's pretty and who isn't? There are so many different types of beauty in the world and I think it's so wrong that because someone doesn't (or multiple people don't) fit into the societal standard of what's beautiful, they're considered to be ugly.
Someone else's beauty doesn't mean the absence of yours!
Comparison is such a destructive thing that can take over and control our lives if we let it. Satan will use that to his advantage by planting that seed of discontentment with our face, our thighs, our nose, our arms, our stomach, and then he'll water and cultivate those seeds until we've grown into someone who is full of self-loathing and hatred.
Riddle me this.
What defines you? Who defines you?
Is it your weight? How "on point" your makeup looks? How muscular you are? Your relationship status? Your grades?
All of those things are temporal and fleeting.
Over the past six months or so, I've been discovering the importance of finding your identity in Christ. He is not temporal or fleeting - He is eternal.
I've come to recognize that the only thing (or Being) worthy of all that I am is Jesus Christ. Placing your identity in anyone or anything else will constantly leave you striving to have more, to do more, to be more. Jesus accepts you as you are. He is full of grace and unconditional love.
Since I've begun intentionally placing my entire identity in Jesus and in who He says I am, instead of what others say about me or who I think I am, I've found myself filled with so much more love and grace towards myself, towards others, and more love for Jesus Himself - followed by a deeper desire to spend time with Him and build upon that relationship (aka the most important relationship in my life).
It isn't always an easy path. Sometimes I wish I was thinner, worked out more, ate fewer donuts, or had different life circumstances. But in those times, I know that I need to turn my thoughts and focus back towards God and His Word.
He will always be the only One who defines me.
And today I so choose.
I've seen a lot of posts on Twitter recently saying things along the lines of "Sometimes I feel pretty, but then I see girls who are actually pretty on my timeline..."
I hate that.
Being someone who for so long believed she wasn't pretty enough or wasn't good enough, seeing posts on social media like that is heartbreaking! And those posts have so many likes, comments, shares, retweets. It's awful!
Who has set the standard for who's pretty and who isn't? There are so many different types of beauty in the world and I think it's so wrong that because someone doesn't (or multiple people don't) fit into the societal standard of what's beautiful, they're considered to be ugly.
Someone else's beauty doesn't mean the absence of yours!
 |
| Source: Ian Schneider, unsplash.com |
Comparison is such a destructive thing that can take over and control our lives if we let it. Satan will use that to his advantage by planting that seed of discontentment with our face, our thighs, our nose, our arms, our stomach, and then he'll water and cultivate those seeds until we've grown into someone who is full of self-loathing and hatred.
Riddle me this.
What defines you? Who defines you?
Is it your weight? How "on point" your makeup looks? How muscular you are? Your relationship status? Your grades?
All of those things are temporal and fleeting.
Over the past six months or so, I've been discovering the importance of finding your identity in Christ. He is not temporal or fleeting - He is eternal.
I've come to recognize that the only thing (or Being) worthy of all that I am is Jesus Christ. Placing your identity in anyone or anything else will constantly leave you striving to have more, to do more, to be more. Jesus accepts you as you are. He is full of grace and unconditional love.
Since I've begun intentionally placing my entire identity in Jesus and in who He says I am, instead of what others say about me or who I think I am, I've found myself filled with so much more love and grace towards myself, towards others, and more love for Jesus Himself - followed by a deeper desire to spend time with Him and build upon that relationship (aka the most important relationship in my life).
It isn't always an easy path. Sometimes I wish I was thinner, worked out more, ate fewer donuts, or had different life circumstances. But in those times, I know that I need to turn my thoughts and focus back towards God and His Word.
He will always be the only One who defines me.
It's Gonna be Real Good
Friday, August 4, 2017
I love Grey's Anatomy. That's something that's important to know about me, and since you're reading my blog, I think you're important.
I'm currently re-watching the show for the second time, which I know is a concept that some people simply cannot wrap their heads around. But y'all. I know some people who have watched the show five times... at least!
Without giving away any spoilers from the show - I ain't about that - let me tell y'all a little something.
The show is a hospital drama, and while the point of it is supposed to be all of the fascinating medical cases, and character development over the course of thirteen seasons (and they're not done yet!!!), letsberealhere...
The point of the show is really the Meredith and Derek storyline/drama. I know you're all thinkin it. #MerDer
Seeing as this is my first re-watch of the show, it's really been fascinating to me to see all of the different cases again, the characters returning to how they acted (and looked!) thirteen years ago, aaand of course, seeing Meredith and Derek go through aaaaall of their drama yet again.
I have to say though, seeing MerDer face everything when I already know how it all pans out (and it's reaaaal goood), got me thinking...
Is that how God feels? Especially when we're between a rock and a hard place and we're not sure what's going to happen next. Is He sitting up there thinking 'Girl you don't even know... Things are going to turn out realllll gooooood. You've just gotta trust me.'?
W8.
'Did she just use Grey's Anatomy in an analogy???'
Yep. It's not the fist time, and it likely won't be the last.
But I mean, for real!
We can get so caught up in our circumstances that we can end up forgetting that we can trust our unknown situations to an all-knowing God. That is something that I've had to constantly remind myself of this summer. And even still, sometimes I get so overwhelmed that I forget to remind myself of that. It's in those moments that I'm grateful for God-given friends who are able to point me back to Him when I feel like life is too much.
So sit back, choose a show of your choice on Netflix, remember 1 Peter 5:7 ("Cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you"), and surrender your circumstances to the God who knows exactly how it's gonna turn out.
I'm currently re-watching the show for the second time, which I know is a concept that some people simply cannot wrap their heads around. But y'all. I know some people who have watched the show five times... at least!
Without giving away any spoilers from the show - I ain't about that - let me tell y'all a little something.
The show is a hospital drama, and while the point of it is supposed to be all of the fascinating medical cases, and character development over the course of thirteen seasons (and they're not done yet!!!), letsberealhere...
The point of the show is really the Meredith and Derek storyline/drama. I know you're all thinkin it. #MerDer
Seeing as this is my first re-watch of the show, it's really been fascinating to me to see all of the different cases again, the characters returning to how they acted (and looked!) thirteen years ago, aaand of course, seeing Meredith and Derek go through aaaaall of their drama yet again.
I have to say though, seeing MerDer face everything when I already know how it all pans out (and it's reaaaal goood), got me thinking...
Is that how God feels? Especially when we're between a rock and a hard place and we're not sure what's going to happen next. Is He sitting up there thinking 'Girl you don't even know... Things are going to turn out realllll gooooood. You've just gotta trust me.'?
 |
| Source: Jon Tyson, unsplash.com |
W8.
'Did she just use Grey's Anatomy in an analogy???'
Yep. It's not the fist time, and it likely won't be the last.
But I mean, for real!
We can get so caught up in our circumstances that we can end up forgetting that we can trust our unknown situations to an all-knowing God. That is something that I've had to constantly remind myself of this summer. And even still, sometimes I get so overwhelmed that I forget to remind myself of that. It's in those moments that I'm grateful for God-given friends who are able to point me back to Him when I feel like life is too much.
So sit back, choose a show of your choice on Netflix, remember 1 Peter 5:7 ("Cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you"), and surrender your circumstances to the God who knows exactly how it's gonna turn out.
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