I don’t remember breaking my neck, but I’ve heard the basic story. As I bicycled home from work twelve years ago, another cyclist cut in and sent me spinning off the trail to land headfirst on a rock. My spine was crushed rather than severed, so I can breathe without a ventilator and have some use of my arms and legs.
I’m thankful for that. It’s harder to be thankful for how much help I need.
At work one day, a teammate asked if she could do anything for me. I had just realized that the bag strapped to my lower leg needed to be emptied, so I asked her to do that. “Sure,” she said. She got the “stealth urinal” I keep under my desk. Then, smiling and cheerful, she knelt at my feet and emptied the bag. Watching, I had a powerful sense of Jesus’ delight in her. And as she carried the urinal away, a guest in our office came and put a hand on my shoulder.
“That was a holy moment,” she said. “Thank you for sharing it with me.”
I don’t like being dependent, but it’s good for my soul. I don’t like being weak, but it sets other people free to see God.
We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us … keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling short-changed.
Romans 5:3-5, MSG
