Walk On

Here's a recap of yesterday's blog:

 

Perfectly summarized

So it's been almost four years since Vader's ride of choice struck me at Sonic. Since that time my knee has ebbed and flowed between healing and breaking more. As we speak, I am in my usual position of R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression and elevation...) trying to get the swelling down. It's been so long since I've had the freedom to slip on some running shoes and sprint around outside for miles and miles and it energized me, not discouraged me. I've missed trail running the way some people miss an ex-boyfriend or a pet that's passed on. That's the way I've missed the white trail at Percy Warner Park.

There were many moments of frustration during these last four years. Moments of 'why' and trying to find purpose in such a thing as a knee injury from doing my job. God's sovereignty doesn't really cross your mind when you're spending all your time over analyzing why you don't deserve trials and how you're going to 'fix' it.

About a mile from my house is a track I ran on in high school frequently. It's where the regional championship was held and holds a plethora of memories for me. Surrounding the perimeter of the property is a wood chip track where people come to jog and walk their dogs. The track is fenced in but is still visible from the wee trail.


More Microsoft Paint Awesomeness



Hubbell and I go there a couple of times a week and walk/jog around it depending on the pain radiating from my right knee. Many days it feels like an exercise in futility as I go round and round a place that used to be a territory of accomplishment-a visual reminder of my weakness.

Last week as Hubbell and I lapped the trail, my iPod clipped through the usual roster: My Morning Jacket, REM, Jump, Little Children, Florence and the Machine, Queen, Ryan Adams...and then u2's "Walk On" geared up. I know it's incredibly cheesy, but there was something about this run with that weather with that song that was purely inspirational. Looking through the chain link fence at a track where a few years ago I was strong and now being weak, it was liberating to have that playing as background music. The message of pushing through trials in faith is valued-whether that race of faith is a walk or a run. It reminded me of II Corinthians 12:9-10 where Paul boasts in his weakness, so that Christ's strength may shine through, giving glory to Christ and to Christ alone.

I read a devotional recently about this relationship between our short comings and God's power by A.B. Simpson. Here it is:

"And being absolutley certain that whatever promise He is bound by, He is able to make good" (Rom. 4:20)

'We are told that Abraham could look at his own body and consider it as good as dead without being discouraged, because he was not looking at himself but at the Almighty One.

He did not stagger at the promise, but stood straight up unbending beneath his might load of blessing; and instead of growing weak he waxed strong in the faith, grew more robust, the more difficulties became apparent, glorifying God through His very sufficiency and being ''fully persuaded that he who had promised was'' not merely able but as it literally means ''abundantly able'', munificently able, able with an infinite surplus of resources to perform.

He is the God of boundless resources. The only limit is in us. Our asking, our thinking, our praying are too small; our expectations are too limited. He is trying to lift us up to a higher conception, and lure us on to a mightier expectation and appropriation. Oh, shall we put Him in derision? There is no limit to what we may ask and expect of our glorious El Shaddai; and there is but one measure here given for His blessing, and that is ''according to the power that worketh in us''.

That's all for today. Be encouraged in your trials-it's not your strength that will get you through it. It's God's promise of goodness. So just keep on walkin' in that promise.

Blessings,

KB

P.S. I think it goes without saying that today I'm spinning u2.

Death Star

I used to be a runner. Past tense. Ran track. Ran cross country. Won some big races and lost some big races. Running aired more on the side of love for me in the 'love/hate' relationship most people find with it. Even before the age of the iPod, I loved escaping out on a trail and getting lost in my head. Then the iPod showed up and married my love of three things: running, being outside and music. It was a polygamous relationship.

This aspect of my life came to a very abrupt stop in July of 2007. At the time I was training for a mini triathlon and was finding great joy in returning from a hard run in the Tennessee heat. There is such great satisfaction in being exhausted with purpose.



Would you like to try cheese on that?

 After one such run, I hurried from training to my job at the time: skating carhop at Sonic. Here's some interesting economics: made more money as a carhop at Sonic than as a bedside nurse in an ICU. If only people could tip their nurses...

This evening at work started no differently than any other. I went to work, laced up my skates, and put my smile on. About an hour into my shift, an incident happened that would prove to rob me of much joy for years to come. A large truck, and I mean a LARGE truck-think a Ford F-950, something with a a hemi for its hemi, a machine capable of derailing a train kind of large-pulled into a stall and just forgot to come to a complete stop. And hit me.




Death Star on wheels

Nope. This is a Death Star on wheels:

If you ever find yourself in this wager: "who do you think would win in a fight: a skating carhop or the Death Star on wheels?" Go with your instincts and put your money on the Death Star.



An unlikely scenario





This sucked. There's really no eloquent way to express it. It just sucked. That encounter tore my knee up something awful. My race that I had trained so hard for was out of the question. Spent months in a knee brace that claimed half the territory of my right leg and became a connoisseur of physical therapy exercises. Props to physical therapists every where: your profession is amazing. Thank you.

There are life lessons I learned from this comical injury. Another blog, another day. Probably tomorrow.

Blessings,

KB

P.S. I'm admitting that I've been listening to Men Without Hats today. S-A-F-E-T-Y....

Slinky Unclassified

Part I: Background

My older brother is a West Point graduate and during his walk on the long gray line, our family got to know his classmates very well. They'd come and visit us when they were stationed at Ft. Campbell or they'd go out to dinner with us when we'd come to New York-through varied interactions there was lots of bonding. It is pretty fantastic to have thirty older brother figures.

His shirt definitely reads: "it's all fun and games until someone loses a nut''-with a bunch of squirrels pictured.

One of my favorite West Point guys is Michael Campbell-known to my sister and I as Mikey. Such a cool dude. Strong heart for Jesus, laid back, crazy smart about things no one should be that smart about, adventurous, great sense of humour, etc. Uber blessed to have him as part of our West Point family thing. He just got engaged to a fellow nurse (whoop!) and we hope God pours blessing upon blessing onto their family.

My younger sister (Jenny) and I went to visit Mikey in Hawaii last year-that trip was a blast-including the part where we were all evacuated for a tsunami. Well, sort of a tsunami. The only thing that makes Hawaii better is watching lots of 'Arrested Development' and quoting the second 'Ace Ventura' every second of the day. Being in a natural paradise and laughing with good people are two of my favorite things.



"It's gonna be some kind of record!"

 One of our afternoons was spent hiking this old railroad track up the side of a mountain. For those of you who have seen the second Ace Ventura, I'm sure you understand the temptation to quote the slinky scene over and over again. Which we did. "How selfish of me, let's do all the things that yoouuu want to do.''

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltwxC19s5u8

Part II: Actual Point of Post

A few days ago I ran across an online comic about how the slinky is never really as much fun as advertised. I sent it to Mikey with the subject line of 'Slinky'. When he replied, it came back as Slinky UNCLASSIFIED. I guess since it came from a military email account it has to say that? I honestly have no idea. Either way, the term Slinky Unclassified gave me the mental picture of a special agent Slinky gone off the grid-a renegade Slinky with something to prove and nothing to lose. A Rambo Slinky.

Obviously a thirty second mental blip in my mind turned into an hour and a half on Microsoft Paint to bring us all this little work of magic:

Slinky Unclassified: This time he's no push over...

Happy early weekend, y'all. Go buy a Slinky.

Blessings,

KB

P.S. Mavis Staples' album "You Are Not Alone" is fantastic. Good job, Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy. And thanks to sister mentioned above for giving it to me for my birthday.