It was a Wednesday evening, and I had just returned home from my friend’s house. It was almost eleven o’clock, so I decided to turn the television on to watch the evening news. My mother, who lives downstairs, had just finished calling her usual “Good night” when I heard a loud thump. I muted the television and listened again. Not hearing anything, I quickly got up and yelled downstairs, asking my mother if anything had fallen. And then I heard her voice, “Rosemary, I fell and broke my arm.”

It is truly amazing how quickly adrenalin sets in. I literally ran down those twelve steps and anxiously looked for my mother. There she was in the bathroom, lying on her side with her right hand across her lap. Apparently she came to an abrupt stop when she entered the bathroom. She was wearing slippers that are fine on linoleum, but the soles acted like a brake on the carpet as she shuffled along. I quickly retrieved a pillow to make her a little more comfortable and then called 911. The ambulance service was there in no time. The attendants took her vital signs, lifted her onto a stretcher into the ambulance, and off she went to the hospital.

My mother’s x-rays showed a “dinner fork” fracture of her wrist. This type is quite common among children and the elderly, especially those with osteoporosis. Such a fracture often happens when a person falls forward and then attempts to break the fall by throwing the hands forward. The impact of the hand on the ground and the sudden uptake of body weight by the wrist cause the two bones in the forearm to break just above the wrist, leaving them open-ended, like a dinner fork.

Every one of us suffers a mishap at one time or another and we feel so inadequate, frustrated, and helpless. Sometimes we go through periods of depression and feeling sorry for ourselves, and it seems that our whole body suffers the consequences. The apostle Paul points out that this principle also applies to the body of Christ, the church:

1 Corinthians 12:14,26a – For the body is not one member, but many. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. (NASB)

It is also at such times that we come to realize how many things we take for granted, especially a right hand. Those who are right-handed are lost trying to do things with a left hand instead. Trying to comb hair, brush teeth, bathe, or shower, takes a lot of effort. Sometimes we need to humble ourselves and ask for help in certain situations.

It is at times like these that we also need to humble ourselves before God and remember that He is with us through these mishaps, knowing that in time healing will take place.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, forgive us for not being thankful for the little things that we take for granted. Thank You for Your promise of transforming our humble and broken bodies into bodies of Your glory. Amen.

Rosemary Hagedorn rosyhagedorn@gmail.com
Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada

Thanks to http://daily.presbycan.ca