Lessons From a Broken Ankle

I’m going to stray a bit from my typical post about birth related topics and talk about myself today. As some of you may know from my facebook posts, I broke my ankle three weeks ago. My family and I drove to a campground two hours away and as we were setting up, I stepped out of the camper onto uneven ground and rolled my ankle. This resulted in breaking the very tip of my fibula off at the ankel joint and tearing a tendon. These last three weeks have been very hard for me. Not so much the physical pain, although there was some in those first days after, but emotional and spiritual pain. This week I have been wondering, what would God have me learn through these circumstances? And the answer is: so much! 

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♥My identity is in Christ, not what I accomplish.
Ouch! I am a task-driven person. And I am guilty in seeking my worth and finding my identity in the things I accomplish. And now that I am forced to spend the majority of my days sitting and lying with this broken ankle, God has been speaking to me on this issue. I am not defined by my accomplishments, or my situation/circumstances. I am created in His image (Genesis 1:27, Ephesians 4:24). I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). I am a child of God (John 1:12, John 3:1-2, Galatians 3:26) He has chosen me, dwells within me and loves me (1 Corinthians 6:19, John 15:9, 1 John 4:9) And no person, thing, situation or circumstance can take that away from me (Romans 8:35-39). I am important. As I see the effect of my weeks of being limited on my feet, I realize how much my family does in fact need me. And through the outpouring of love we received with meals from friends and family, I realize that people care about me and my family.I know all of this in my head, but it’s hard to let it sink into my heart.

♥The Lord will provide.
For much of the last 3 weeks, I couldn’t even tell you for sure what it is that I needed, but I needed *something*. I have been seeking the Lord and He has provided. (Philippians 4:19, Hebrews 11:6). I still having moments of frustration and feeling stir-crazy, but overall, I’m feeling more content and patient. And we have had so many people caring for our family by bringing meals. Seriously, we had an entire 3 weeks worth of dinners and many lunches brought to us….what a blessing!

♥ I need to have patience
All of this sitting around waiting to heal is hard! I am learning patience and I pray that it will help me relate better to my husband, my children and my doula clients.  (Romans 12:12, Romans 5:3-4, Colossians 3:12) And I trust that all of this will build character in me and will be used for good once I am through it. (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28)