Sidelined

It was my first week of college.
I was a commuter student…living at home and working…while taking classes.
Fashion was a bit preppy.
Wide wale corduroy skirts, dean sweaters, loafers, leather belts with changeable buckles.

Of course, clogs were also worn with skirts.
I loved them and couldn’t wait to get my first pair.
I wore them to class that first week.
Walking was a little difficult because you needed to keep the clogs on your feet.

The campus had lovely old stone buildings and lots of hills.
I had to park in the day student lot and walk to the academic buildings.
This particular day, my class was on the second floor.
It was raining; I was somehow maneuvering a canvas tote bag of books and an umbrella.

As I entered the building, I saw I was running late and hurried up the stairs.
Marble stairs…rainy day…wet steps…
Before I knew it, I was on the floor…books were scattered…pride was squashed.

No one was around because classes had already started.
I gathered my things…noticed my foot hurt…but I could still walk on it.

I went to class…in fact; I went to all of my classes.
I drove home later that afternoon, but by evening, my foot was really bothering me.
I drove myself to the emergency room.
I broke the bone on the side of my left foot.

They put me in a walking cast, up to my knee, and gave me a set of crutches.
I was told not to put any weight on my foot for forty-eight hours.
Great…first week of college…missing classes for two days…in a walking cast…on crutches!

Thankfully, all of this happened at the end of the week, so I had the weekend to rest.

I was able to drive, when I went back to classes, since it was not my driving foot.
Everything had to be done a bit slower and I had to give myself more time.
Hills were not easy to climb in a cast.
I was given a temporary pass so that I could park closer to the building.

So much for the preppy look, that was the mainstay then.
Fashion became whatever was comfortable and could fit easily over a cast.

I walked differently since the plaster cast had a rubber heel on the bottom.
I had to walk in a sort of rolling motion because the rubber heel was in the center.
After a day or two of that, my back hurt terribly.

After six weeks, the cast came off.
I was so happy.
I could take showers without wrapping the cast in plastic.
I could itch my leg…without sticking a pen down the cast…and fear it would be lost forever.

As for the clogs…they were never worn again!

I lift my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip – He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed He who watches over Israel will neither slumber or sleep. The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm – He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
(Psalm 121)

Without eyes to see, someone might read Psalm 121 and say…God didn’t keep His promise. You fell. You broke your foot. He didn’t keep you from harm.

In our fallen world, we get hurt…we get sick…we break bones…eventually, we die.

The key to understanding God’s promises is that they are eternal.
God does not promise smooth sailing here.
He does promise to be with us…always…whether the sailing is smooth or rough.

God is not in the realm of time.
God is always in the “now”.

We, on the other hand are temporal…we are in the confines of time.
Things that feel so inordinately long for us…are a blink of an eye for Him.
God is totally…other.

Psalm 121 reminds us that the Lord will watch over our coming and going both now and forevermore.
We want it easy…now.
We want it pain free…now.
We want answers…now.

If things are difficult, painful, unanswerable…we think that God didn’t hold up His end of the bargain!
The problem is…it’s our bargain…not His!

Looking back, I was uncomfortable with my broken foot, but I had a time of stillness and quiet that was exactly what I needed.
I got acclimated to college a bit slower than I expected.
He knew the pace that was best for me.
I was sidelined…but it was the best thing that ever happened.

We don’t know what God knows.
We don’t know the things that we are protected from every day.
We can only see with our limited perspective.

How gracious He will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, He will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
(Isaiah 30:19-21)

Oh Lord Jesus…help us to trust You in all things.
We walk best when we keep our eyes on You.

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Addendum:

After writing this, and scheduling it for publication, we learned that my husband’s mother died (tonight…August 9) after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.
My husband’s father died seven months ago…so this has been a difficult year.

We have to trust the One who knows fully.
We trust that He will bring others to a saving knowledge of His Son…our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Please keep our family…and extended family…in prayer.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:16)