Dependening on Others

Last weekend I was jumping down the stairwell in our dorm to catch up to my friends, and I landed weird on the last step and sprained my ankle. My RA, Regina, and my friend Mary, ended up taking me to the ER (which was really fun because we laughed the ENTIRE time we were there) and I was on crutches for the rest of the week. Friday I got my foot re-checked out at the doctor's office, and since then, have been officially off crutches. The roughly six days that I was on crutches, however, I was forced to learn quite a bit.

Naturally I like to be or at least feel relatively independent, like I'm not being a burden on someone else. However, with crutches, it was impossible to do so. It was really frustrating for me, especially because people wouldn't let me do anything. I was forced to rely on my friends and fellow hall mates throughout the week and got to learn a little about letting people help you. I'll admit, I am still not very good at this, because I have a pretty strong will, but God definitely used my pain as a learning experience.

Right after I fell I tried to get up, but realized that I couldn't. I realized that I was probably going to have to get it checked out, because I had hurt it pretty bad. The incident reminded me of what Louie Zamperini said when he visited our school, how when he got launched down the stairs and broke his hip at age 80 something, the first thing he thought was "all things work together for good for those that love God, those that are called according to his purpose" and Him thinking "God...this better be good!" That bible verse sank into my mind as I crawled my way to the wall, where my friends rushed to meet me to see if I was okay.

Throughout the week, God played on that inspiration, and I learned how God was trying to use my accident to bring him Glory. God used my experience to help teach me dependence on others. This idea was reinforced on Wednesday, when in chapel an image was imprinted in my brain of Jesus carrying his cross until he couldn't carry it himself anymore in the movie The Passion of the Christ. Then He let a man help him carry his cross with him. Being God, He could have carried it himself, although when he was weak, he let someone help him.