Curve Balls...

So I touched briefly in my last entry on life throwing us curve balls, and how I don’t adapt really well to them.

Which seemed to be the trigger for life to throw me one, I would say that is karma, but technically I don’t think LDS folks believe in karma...

Anyway, last Thursday in the midst of the big project launch that I’ve been working on all year I managed to sever some muscle fibers in my left calf while trying to keep myself from falling down the stairs. Apparently these kinds of things start happening more often when one reaches “middle age”, and apparently I don’t much like to be referred to as a person that has “reached middle age” because I gave the doctor my most practiced "look" when he said this. This look works very well with both Rob, and with Jake, to shut them up quickly, but no so much with the doctor, who just laughed and continued to reference my age.

To complicate matters I did this at work, which requires that I go to different doctors than my own because of how insurance works with work place injuries. Long story short (nice try too late for “short” Michelle) I’m stuck with a fairly painful calf injury which will require physical therapy for the next few weeks 3X a week which isn’t something I had previously worked into my calendar.

This injury also made for a not so fun weekend for me. Ended up having and MRI on Friday, so grandma and grandpa, nicely took Jake for us, and they took him to Lagoon where they met Ryan & Jennie and Family and Scott & Circe and Family. Jake had a blast, and crashed on the way home Friday night. I am so thankful for my wonderful family that is always so quick to help us out whenever life throws us these little curve balls. Circe also took Jake Thursday night while I went to the ER, Jake loves that he feels so much a part of the family goings on with his cousins, even with our small family, and we truly appreciate Circe being so good to take him at the last minute and always make sure he is included because he loves being with his cousins.

Saturday we got an early call from dad that he and mom had decided on impulse to head up to Idaho for the weekend, so we went up to their house to take care of Grandma Great. We stayed there until Sunday, when mom and dad came home early because they were both sick. We then went to church where we had a wonderful Sacrament Meeting done by the Davis County Mutual for those with Special Needs. The people had a variety of special needs from Downs Syndrome, profound deafness from Spinal Meningitis, accidents, and other special needs. They sang songs, read poems, and bore their testimonies of the gospel. I don’t think there was a person listening that’s heart was not deeply touched by these amazing people. Some of them were very difficult to understand but their words went right to my heart. I was deeply touched by a young man that clearly had numerous disabilities that sang the song “The Test”, while the special needs choir joined on the chorus, it has always been one of my favorite songs, but I don’t think my heart has ever been so deeply touched by the words:

“Tell me friend, if you understand
Why doesn’t he that heal the lame man
Come and make you whole again…

It would be so easy for him,
I see you and in sorrow question why?
Then you my friend in perfect faith reply:
Didn’t he say he sent us to be tested,
Didn’t he say the way would not be sure,
But didn’t he say we could live with him
Forever more, well and whole,
If we but patiently endured.
After the trials we will be blessed,
But this life is the test.”

It definitely left me feeling profoundly grateful for curve balls that just take a few weeks of physical therapy to heal. One lovely young lady with severe physical disabilities read a beautiful poem she had written about her testimony. It talked about reaching out to each other, and about how she may look different but her soul was the same as all ours. She said that her “test” in life was obvious, but our tests may not be, yet we all have them and as different as we are, that is what this life is all about, and in having tests we all become the same.

I pray that I can meet my tests with the willingness of spirit that these wonderful brothers and sisters meet theirs. They are definitely hitting their curve balls clear out of the park.