It is a little chilly in the house this morning and my cup of Door County Jingle Bell Java Coffee is warming me right up. It's a nice feeling to be warming up as the day begins and sets me on a busy path today.
As I recover from knee replacements it is easy to say that the process has really grounded me to our home more than I am used to. The healing is going well and I am praising God for how it is progressing.
Jeremiah 33:3 New King James Version (NKJV)
3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’I have been blessed with most of my clinical caregivers being able to come to our home. A few Doctors appointments had me traveling to the medical center or a clinic. My good friend has taken me to church and for breakfast. He is one in a million. Rene has taken me to areas of large space and small crowds to walk. I am truly blessed.
All of this has been done in vehicles other than my Big Old Ford Truck. The Old Boy has been started and Rene takes it for a drive now and then to make sure everything is running.
But yesterday my physical therapist asked me if I wanted to try and get in and out of the truck to see if there is a way to do it safely. The thought of sitting in my truck tempted me beyond what I could take and we set ourselves outside for the challenge. I prayed for God's hand to guide me and protect me. It took us about three minutes to determine that this would be an easy accomplishment. The truck is equipped with a side step and grab handles in just the right places. My leg strength is coming along and the more I use the legs the quicker they will progress. Getting into the truck was easy. Coming down took a little thought and it can't be rushed, But we did it and I practiced several times. I became proficient at entering and exiting the truck. My leg response is still too slow to allow me to drive. This will come in time.
Last night I was showing Rene how I manged to get in and out of the truck. She grabbed her purse and our dog Gibbs and she said " Let's go for a ride. The truck needs to run and now I won't be alone." All three of us went for a thirty minute ride. It felt weird not driving the beast and seeing Rene behind the wheel of my hunting companion. But I have to say that the experience was liberating and it felt good. It marked a progress step for me to be able to make that climb into the truck and then descend.
At first, the idea sounded good to try the truck, but as I approached it, fear set in and it almost made me decline the offer to try. Then when it came time to leave the truck the same fear gripped me as I looked at the distance between the truck and the ground. But with the assurance of assistance if I needed it, and a proper plan, the step I almost did not take was taken and I was all smiles.
Friends, some of you will face a challenge this year or are facing one now. Fear of failure or fear of the unknown is holding you back. In my prayer I asked God to remove my fears. I respected the challenge and did not take one short cut. But He removed the fear of trying from me. Victory over fear is only a prayer away. Be honest and enlist others to pray for you. Once you conquer your fear, remember it. Write it down, so that when the next fear comes along you can recall how God carried you through it. He is there in the complicated as well as the simple. God is the first step in beating a fear before it paralyzes you into not moving ahead.
Have a great day!
Marty
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