7 August 2007
Thank you for praying for my injured foot – it’s much better now. There’s no more swelling – I can see the bones, and as I write, the bruises are almost gone too. I’m off crutches and limping a little. And I can drive.
Before I hurt my foot, we had got back into routine with the children and were planning activities and even a short holiday overseas. When I became immobile, everything was shelved. I even had to cancel two appointments with friends. What made it worse was – my computer died, just after I made arrangements to pick up a pair of crutches. I was a handicapped damsel in distressed but I knew He must have His reasons to allow this to happen. So I waited and talked to Him. I believe He is still reminding me that I should take time to rest – physically and spiritually and that I’m NOT a supermom and should not even try to be one. He must have known that for me, old habits die hard. My TOTAL reliance must be on Him.
One of my devotions reminded me of how God will provide for me:
God does not give us overcoming life: He gives us life as we overcome. The strain is the strength. If there is no strain, there is no strength. Are you asking God to give you life and liberty and joy? He cannot, unless you will accept the strain. Immediately you face the strain, you will get the strength. Overcome your own timidity and take the step, and God will give you to eat of the tree of life and you will get nourishment. If you spend yourself physically, you become exhausted; but spend yourself spiritually, and you get more strength. God never gives strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the minute. The temptation is to face difficulties from a commonsense standpoint. The saint is hilarious when he is crushed with difficulties because the thing is so ludicrously impossible with anyone but God.
(August 2, ‘My Utmost for His Highest’ by Oswald Chambers)
As I hobbled around, I saw how He was faithful.
The Children
I hurt my foot when I was going home with John at night after his class. It was painful but I decided to drive home slowly. I told John that I need him to pray and be very quiet so I can concentrate. He was very obedient and didn’t make a single sound. I bore with the pain, crying silently through my chattering teeth. Many thoughts ran through my mind. I feared a fracture. I blamed myself for being careless. I asked God why it had to happen when I want to go for a holiday. I even wondered if the pain was comparable to that of labour pains. I concluded that with those contractions in the delivery suite, at least when the baby is born, the pain is more or less relieved but not my leg!!! It’ll take a few weeks to heal. When we reached home, John broke down. He must have heard my groanings and felt helpless. Poor guy! The next day when Rebecca and Li-Ann saw my bandaged leg, they asked about it and were very sympathetic. The children drew me get well cards, offered to wheel me around in my computer chair, held my hand when I had to walk to the bathroom, hung the laundry, helped with breakfast, set the table and washed the dishes. The children showed me their love in very practical ways. Such wonderful angels!!
A Good Girlfriend
I knew I needed to get an x-ray for my foot to find out if there were any fractures. I would need hubby to go with me to the A&E but someone had to watch the children. I called a very close friend and asked if she could come over for a few hours. She agreed immediately and drove over, telling me she would pray. It was so kind of her to come by so quickly. She finally went home at about 2am.
Hubby and My Parents
Hubby didn’t like the state I was in but he kept all his comments to himself. He gave me a big bag of ice which lasted for our 3-hour wait at the A&E. It numbed the pain and kept the swelling down. He took leave the next day to help me. He also came with us when I had to bring Li-Ann for her eye checkup. Within four hours, we got Li-Ann’s eyes and ears checked (the latter with no prior appointment made) and she also went for her first session with the Speech Therapist. Her eyesight is normal and she would not need glasses. PTL!!! During weekends hubby would settle the meals and the children.
Within three days, we bought a new computer at a very reasonable price. Tech savvy hubby said that was because the price of one of the software was slashed. Perhaps my computer broke down at the ‘right’ time? Thereafter, my knight in shiny amour spent many hours fixing up the computer so I could get to use it asap. Now we have a VERY fast computer. I‘m VERY happy.
My parents come every day, bringing us food and fruits and taking care of the children and chores. I really don’t know what to do without mom and dad.
The A&E Nurse
The nurse who attended to me was very sympathetic and proactive. She affirmed my efforts to keep the pain and swell down and told me to continue to ice my foot while waiting to see the doctor, ordered an x-ray, told me the queue situation and just before I went home, bandaged my foot even though the doctor didn’t give instructions for that. I thank God for such a responsible nurse; I wouldn’t have known I needed a bandage for my foot even though there was no fracture.
A Good Guyfriend
I had to go for my chemotherapy three days after I hurt my foot. A good friend picked me up and stayed with me throughout my treatment. He would consider what was most convenient for me at all times, even when I needed to use the bathroom. When he dropped me off at hubby’s office in the evening, he made sure I had a place to sit before he went off. I felt really apologetic that he missed an appointment because of me.
A Kind Colleague
A churchmate managed to ask one of her colleagues to lend me a pair of crutches. That was important during the first few days when I didn’t want to put weight on my foot. I also used it when I went for my chemotherapy. God is good – this lady stays near my place.
A Long Lost friend
With the old hard disk gone and no backup for my documents, I lost all soft copies of my updates. My mind went blank too. Then I remembered a friend may have them. We found one another after ten years. This dear sister wanted to know what I went through and asked to read all the updates so she could pray for me. I forwarded them to her after I realized she was serious about reading them. Thankfully she had not deleted them. Her husband would help me save them on a CD-ROM. God saved my files!!
I am deeply grateful to family members and many friends who have showed their love by praying for me, helping me to source for crutches, offering to bring me to the Chinese physician and also checking on my foot now and then.
Thank you, super heroes!!
Apple
I Can Do It! 