Recently, I took a shortcut down a flight of stairs ending up head down on concrete. The left side of my body took a beating, which honestly saved me from a head injury, and for that I am grateful. The ER doc said, “I’ve got good news and bad news: you have multiple fractured bones, but you won’t need surgery.” Again, I am grateful! I had a very wise father-in-law who facetiously but truthfully said, “If you’re not going to learn from your mistakes, there is no use making them.” In a moment of not paying attention, I missed a step and changed the next six weeks of my life. I'm grateful it only altered six weeks - I could easily be in a rehab hospital re-learning how to eat instead of writing you today. So I will take this time to focus on the lessons I've been given through "the fall."
Lesson number one: gratefulness is good medicine. This is the truth - there is always someone else who has it worse, and you could always be worse off yourself. So counting blessings is occupying my time: loving family and friends; a wonderful husband who is getting an A+ in caregiving; great medical care; powerful pain medications; and time to rest, reflect and write.
Like the original fall in the biblical book of Genesis, every fall involves an opportunity to choose. We are created as choice makers, and that entails a lifetime journey of learning and growing, making mistakes and making amends. Whether we make good choices or poor ones, we have opportunities to adapt and improve. Whether we are recuperating from an accident or from a deep emotional wound, we get to choose how we go forward. We can become angry and despondent or grateful and enlightened. Whether you accept a literal interpretation of Genesis or not, the wise author must have known that life is full of falls and that we must choose how to respond. Everyday we choose life or death, and gratefulness is a life-giving choice. More to come on the fall. Join in the conversation at www.justnowoldenough.com.