Healing Takes Time

I have a confession to make, I injured myself running earlier this year. Like most men, I tried to ignore it. I hoped that it was just a minor issue and that it will just go away. I tried my best to keep my training up and kept running the long distances to prepare for my next race.

I gutted through the pain that began when I started my runs and at the end of my runs. Quite frankly, I ignored what my body and my medical experts where telling me (you all know and love my on call physical therapist). I tried to maintain my normal regiment/training as if nothing happened. That was until I ran a virtual race (basically a race by yourself) and the pain was so bad I just barely finished the race.

I went to the doctor to be seen and tests were performed. After the tests, I was told to stop running and to start physical therapy. (Imagine that? There are too many blogs about that experience). There are some days that I feel better and other days that I don't. Sometimes the injury feels better; and I push myself in a desire to go back to normal which eventually ends up with more pain.

There are prayers.

I do miss running. Running is what helped me keep weight off and keep my sanity. Now, I found some of the weight I lost and my kids describe me as more grouchy. (They think is the lack of running, not the fact that we have been in the same house together for the past four months without a break.) I have tried riding my bike, walking and using home exercise equipment. It is not the same. This injury has forced me to withdraw from the Chicago Marathon this year. In short, this injury has upended the life I've grown accustom to.

Our society is injured right now. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything. Our society has done what I have done with my injury. At first, we ignored it in hopes that everything will go away. We gutted through the first phase thinking that this was similar to the flu; and we would just get over it. We try to rush through the cure and eventually made it worse. We are upset; because, we do not recognize this normal. We want things to go back to the way they were.

In my devotions, I have been reading Numbers. Remember, the time the Israelis spent in the wilderness. At one point, Israel clambered to go back to Egypt (their normal). However, God had a new normal planned for his children. Although the trek through the wilderness was tough and long, God had prepared a land of "milk and honey" for his children. One thing we have to realize is that he did not allow his children to rush the process. It still took years of toil and sweat to get to the Promised Land.

With our injuries, time is a factor. We may want to rush the process and push through to get to our promised land. We can't. God's time and healing happens at a pace we may not understand. Quite honestly, we may never return to what the world was like pre-COVID-19. However, if the new normal is a promised land, wouldn't the annoyances, disappointments and pain we have endured be worth it? I do believe that I will recover, be able to run again and finish the Chicago Marathon in 2021. I do believe our church, denomination, and society will see better days. God is working, we just have to wait and see what is in store.

God bless,

Doyll