What it was was a boo-boo

This week I experienced a little “situation.” I was in the bathroom getting ready to take a shower when, for some reason, I slipped and went crashing to the floor.
At my age, this is a rather serious “situation.” I fell on my left leg, and all I could think of was that I broke my hip, and now I’m going to have a hip replacement. I tried to get that out of my mind, but for some reason it lingered.
I’m not exactly sure what my problem was, but I could not get up. What bothered me was whether I should call for The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage to help me or lie there struggling to get up.
Of course, I chose the latter and tried my best to get up off that floor.
At that time, I was not feeling any pain, but I was worried that because of my fall I broke something. I knew I needed help, so after much thought I decided to call for The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. That was the last thing I wanted to do, and I knew that I would live with that for the rest of my life. It may even leak into eternity; I’m not sure.
I threw my pride into the toilet and called out for her to come and help me. Believe me, I tried as hard as I could to solve my problem. Over the years, I have discovered that The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage can solve any problem, so my choice was obvious.
She came and saw me splattered all over the bathroom floor and asked, “What happened?”
I knew an exposé on what happened in the bathroom wouldn’t solve any of my problems. I just looked at her and said, “Can you help me get up?”
I was anxious to know the full extent of my injuries. Within 30 minutes of her helping me, I finally was able to get out of the bathroom and into the bedroom on my bed. That was the longest 30 minutes of my life.
I sat on the bed for a few moments, trying to assess my situation. I checked my leg for swelling or pain, and thankfully, I had no broken bones and my hip was working just fine. I sighed a deep sigh of relief at that point.
The only thing I had was some fatigue in my left leg. It wasn’t anything serious; I felt confident I didn’t need to go to the hospital for an examination. Every time I go to the hospital, they find six or more things wrong that I never even thought of. So, I decided to rest at home and work on my boo-boo, hoping it would heal on its own.
For the last two weeks I’ve had to walk with a cane. That is not something I ever wanted to do. The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage said, “Don’t you know that a Cane can make you Able?”
I looked at her with a very suspicious stare because I remembered what Cain did to Abel. Oh boy, what am I in for?
I’ve had to face worse physical problems than this, and I was happy that I didn’t have to go to the hospital. It just meant that I would have to slow down and let everything work out.
A lot of things in life really zap you of strength. I know I’ve been hit with a lot of “pie-in-the-face” stuff throughout life. Sometimes this stuff is exaggerated to make it seem worse than it really is.
I remember going to the hospital one time thinking I had a lot of health problems that I would have to deal with for some time. After a full examination, the doctor came back to my hospital room and said, “As far as I can tell, you don’t have anything seriously wrong with you.” He smiled and then walked away.
I had one doctor who said after every examination, “Someone your age should have something wrong with you.” I kept that doctor for a short time and moved on to another doctor.
I know people take things seriously sometimes. Even things that aren’t really important; they exaggerate, and I think sometimes they do it to get attention.
Over the past several weeks, I’ve been walking around with my cane, and each day seems better than the last. I don’t know how long I’m going to keep my friend, the cane, by my side.
I’ve noticed that when I go out somewhere, at some stores, people open the door for me when they see me coming. That’s because my friend is by my side. I sure would hate to give that up for the rest of my life.
Reflecting on this, I see that some boo-boos, like my fall, can surprisingly turn into blessings, reminding us to find hope in setbacks.
We find this in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
Sometimes it takes trouble to experience God’s comfort. So, when in trouble, look for God’s comfort because it’s right in front of you.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-352-216-3025, e-mail jamessnyder51@gmail.com, website www.jamessnyderministries.com.