Life-Changing

Today is an anniversary.  On this date 12 years ago - December 15, 2009 - I had surgery to fuse my left ankle.

That surgery was necessary because, 4 years earlier, I took one wrong step, fell, dislocated my foot, and shattered my ankle. The ankle was repaired with multiple surgeries and lots of hardware. And after all those surgeries, and all those hours of physical therapy, it worked fine. Until it didn't.

Somewhere along the way, the hardware was no longer doing its job and the ankle joint collapsed, which made walking very painful, and sometimes nearly impossible.

Consultations with orthopedists led to the decision to fuse the ankle, and a surgery date was set.  December 15, 2009.  

And so it was that 12 years ago on this very morning, I was in University Hospital in Charlotte, having an ankle fusion surgery. Then came months of recovery. Another cast. Then another boot. More hopping around on one foot, since the left foot was non-weight-bearing for several months while the bones fused together.

The surgery was successful. The bones fused. The scars healed. And I can walk. But the consequences from that surgery were life-changing. Yes, I can walk, and I walk almost normally. I approach stairs differently than I did pre-fusion. I can't wear the same kinds of shoes I once wore. Definitely nothing with a heel, since my ankle no longer bends. And because it doesn't bend, my foot takes all the stress that an ankle normally absorbs, which means I now have foot "issues" to deal with.  

Foot issues. Different shoes. Walking a little differently. One leg every so slightly shorter than the other.

All because, on a beautiful spring afternoon, I took one wrong step.

Wrong steps have consequences. Often, as in my case, life-changing consequences.  

Thankfully, at the time of the original break, I had a wonderful orthopedic surgeon who did a masterful job of putting me back together. And thankfully, when I needed another orthopedic surgeon, I had another great one. God certainly provided for me what I needed when I needed it, and I am forever grateful.

Wrong steps are not only physical. Often we take wrong-steps in other ways. Emotionally. Mentally.  Spiritually.

We think wrong thoughts. We make bad choices. Often those can be life-changing.

We refer to those wrong steps in the spiritual arena as sin. And just as God provided help for my physical wrong steps, He also provides a solution to our spiritual wrong steps.

He sent us Jesus. Born as a baby in a manger. But the baby grew up. He became a man, and fulfilled His purpose for coming by dying a cruel death on a cross to pay the penalty for our sin. The good news is that He didn't stay dead! He rose from the grave on the third day, just as He said He would, and has now ascended back to the Father where He waits until one day He will return to earth again! 

 That is the life-changing message of Christmas!


"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive adoption as sons."  (Galatians 4:4-5 NASB)

 

For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all around,

While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wond'ring love.

O morning stars together proclaim the holy birth,

And praises sing to God, the King, and peace to men on earth.

 

How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv'n.

So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heav'n.

No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

 

(O Little Town of Bethlehem, stanzas 2 and 3.  Words: Phillips Brooks; Music: Lewis H. Redner)

 

 



Hear David Phelps and friends sing this carol here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zj4vM3PM3w