Three: Even when not in Brooklyn, it's a adventure!

Three:
Even when not in Brooklyn, the adventures never stop!

They called to give me the wonderful news that my car was ready on Tuesday afternoon, I was so happy! Unfortunately I was laying in bed in upstate New York with a leg brace that goes from the top of my thigh to the middle of my calf with a pair of dandy crutches staring at me. My car was in a shop in the last corner of Queens! It was then left to my darling husband to pick up the car after working two double shifts. He's a police officer and my own personal hero. We talked on the phone and looked at subway maps to have a strategy on his journey which we calculated would take about an hour and a half. I felt so bad for him, because for those who know me well, I despise the subway. I get hives thinking of it ( no, I really don't , but I feel like I do) I have tried to like it, trust me. Every time I ride I get followed by rats, my biggest phobia in life. And two people have had violent vomiting sprees right next to me. Not to mention, my favorite aroma of" I had scallions for breakfast" right on my face! Anyway, my husband undertook the task with gusto. When he returned with the car that night he told me this story which I thought was so great: I got in the train in Manhattan, with the Manhattan crowd, I felt safe and then little by little the Manhattan crowd started getting off one by one deserting me! I looked up and realized I was in East New York, and a mob of thugs got on the train and came right at me. They tried to corner me and then their leader yelled" C'mon, let's go mobbing!" My husband against ten gangsters! He stood up and proceeded to stare down the leader. They had a stare down until the next stop, and then he silently exited the train. It was like a western movie. He then walked in the rain for about 5 miles to pick up the car. My knight in shining armor!
The car returned home safely and so did he. Yesterday we went to the orthopedic surgeon and learned that I have torn ligaments on my knee and that I will be in cast and crutches for at least 6 weeks. So since yesterday my adventure has been to learn to walk in crutches and be stable. So far I've flung a crutch while walking, got a plastic bag stuck on one of my crutches and had one of them slide away in the icy snow in front of our house. We were not in Freedom Square this weekend, I am in so much pain! But I heard wonderful reports from one of our leaders of sweet worship and a record number of people attending both the service and the feeding program. The work of the Lord continues in strength, even when obstacles come our way. Why? How?Because God will equip you and bless you with people especially when you are in need. You know what i've been pondering about this week? Pain. In studying physical pain I learned that its our body's way of telling us something is wrong. I feel pain in my knee because my body is alerting me that something is wrong. How many of us are in pain or have hidden pains? I'm not talking about pain because you have a sick loved one, or because you are suffering because of a loss. I'm talking about pain because someone hurt you in the past, because you hurt someone, pain because you feel like you failed, or because you are keep playing a certain scenario in your head over and over again that brings you so much pain. Maybe you said too much or said too little, or maybe you stayed silent. Maybe the pain is there because it's an alarm to let you know that there is something wrong. You see no matter how much you try, pain is very hard to hide. I know this because I have dealt with both physical and emotional pain all my life. I have a defense mechanism, I try to rationalize my pain. I'll talk to myself and try to convince my pain that it's not there. Does it work? No way! The only way to deal with pain is to acknowledge it, target it's source and find a way to make it go away. This process is difficult, but worth it. When we get to the point that we deal with our pain it's such a sweet moment of freedom! As Christians, Jesus bore our pains for us, and He is familiar with pain. He does not look away at it, He knows it well.Even as I write this I am in pain, but I know in my heart that if I trust in the promises that Jesus has given me, I'm not alone. Is the road easy? No, but is NOT a road that we walk alone friends. Our sweet Lord is there every step, wiping every tear.
~ An adventure is better shared with your best friend.
Cheers!