"You Just Can't Make This Stuff Up!"

There are a number of familiar phrases we use from time to time to describe the circumstances of our lives. "A funny thing happened on the way to....." is often a way to introduce an unexpected twist in a story. "Can you believe that...." is less a question and more a statement when used to introduce something unexpected. "You just can't make this stuff up," is often a statement of incredulity when something unusual, something so out of the ordinary happens that changes even the best of plans. That pretty much described my doctor's perspective when he pointed me to the X-ray yesterday morning that showed the fracture in my left foot. This is the same doctor that has been treating the torn tendon in my right ankle and who was scheduled to do surgery on that ankle in September. You see, I took an unexpected tumble Wednesday evening at home that resulted in the fracture that landed me in the doctor's office Thursday morning. As he pointed to the x-ray image on the screen, he smiled at me, shook his head, and said, "You just can't make this stuff up!" He was voicing what we all were feeling in the room as the realization that the good foot, the one that was to have given me stability in the aftermath of surgery on the right foot, was now broken. "What are the odds of this happening?" we were all thinking to ourselves.

 

Well, it did happen and as a result, I now have a hard cast on my left leg that will remain for the next six to eight weeks. I can bear no weight on it and so, I cannot drive, nor get around as I want to for a while.  The surgery that was supposed to happen in September has now been postponed until after the first of the year.  So, what next? What does one do when unexpected twists and turns alter one's life so suddenly and unexpectedly?  Perhaps that's where my doctor's words have more meaning than I first realized.  Perhaps his words in some way are a statement of faith, recognition that things happen sometimes that are beyond our control.  How one responds, however, makes a great deal of difference.  

 

A good friend has just now texted to remind me to hang in there, that things will get easier with each new day.  Knowing all that this person has been through and her faith to persevere, I am encouraged.  I have learned these lessons of faith from many of you who have faced much greater trials than are now before me with the courage and strength of your faith.  Recognizing that things happen beyond our control is simply acknowledging the uncertainty of the world in which we live.  Learning to trust in the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, even in the midst of that uncertainty, is the hope that empowers next steps, or in my case, hops.

 

The annual back to school event at Springfield Gardens is tomorrow from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. (Since it looks like I wont be able to make it tomorrow, perhaps some of you might consider taking my place and assisting Dick Marvin and others in this good work.)

 

Our final August Sunday at Westwood is this Sunday with worship at 9:30 a.m. and fellowship time to follow.  The handbell choir will share another of the wonderful bell stories they perform each year at this time, focusing this Sunday on the story of Paul and Silas.  Remember also that there is a called meeting immediately following worship to approve the nominating committee report for new deacons.

 

And so, you truly can't make up some of the stories that mark our lives.  You can, however, in the midst of it all, trust the Lord.  As one of my good friends, in adding to another of life's familiar phrases, "God is good," used to remind me, "God is good...all the time." Amen and Amen.

 

Jim Abernathy