A week ago today, I sprained my left ankle.
Today, my husband Tim sprained his right ankle.
Together we make one pair of good legs.
You can’t tell me we weren’t made for each other. ;-)
crutches are my friends
*Edit* I had to go in for x-rays on Monday, and I found out it is just a bad sprain. I should be able to bear weight on it in no more than a week. *End Edit*
I’ve been injured twice in my life. The first was when I was 2 years old. My oldest brother was playing with a tent stake and it swung around and hit me on the side of my nostril, ripping it open. I had stitches and have a very thin, white scar on the side of my nose (it has all but faded now). The second time was this past Friday; I hurt my ankle while snow tubing. Even though I’ve avoided involving myself in pretty much every sport, I still managed to get hurt. So far I think it’s just a sprain, but if it doesn’t start healing soon, I’m going to have to have an x-ray. Hopefully it’s not fractured. We have what I like to call “wait and see” insurance. Basically I want to avoid the hospital if at all possible.
All in all, yesterday was just about the most boring day of my life. I spent the entire day alone on the couch with my foot iced and propped up on 3 pillows. I watched HGTV. All day. HGTV is a beautiful thing; maybe I’ll talk about it some more later. After HGTV got old, I was reduced to watching the 2nd and 3rd “Bring It On” movies (PMS-ing high school cheerleaders who act like they’re 11 years old and yet the world is coming to an end because they gained 2 pounds over the summer). Wow. I must admit that I do enjoy the choreography though. I could never be that flexible or strong.
my love
Here’s one great thing God has done for me.
His name is Tim.
We met at Lincoln Lake Baptist Camp in the summer of 2004. He had just graduated from High School and I was a Senior. He had just lost his job and decided last minute to sign up for the very last week of camp for the summer.
He had blond hair, crisp blue eyes, and a really loud voice. From the very start he was the center of attention. I didn’t know one person could make so many noises. Mooing, clicking, you name it, he could imitate it. I saw him as a very entertaining, amiable person, but the attraction stopped there.
Over the course of a year, I discovered that he was interested in me. He didn’t make it obvious, but I could tell he really enjoyed talking to me. I think I was just a casual interest of his at first. He had a lot of female friends, anyway.
We both wound up applying for summer jobs at Lincoln Lake the following summer. During that summer I realized that I really did not like Tim Hogue. He was too opinionated, (in my opinion), too stubborn (like me), and much too forward. At this stage in my life I was all about the tall, dark, and handsome type. Tim didn’t quite fit my high standards. So when he was too friendly, I made sure to keep things short and sweet. We even got in a few spats that summer. He had a sense of humor that I didn’t understand, so I took his jokes for rudeness. I was happy when camp ended and we parted ways.
When I learned in the fall of 2005 that he still had an interest in me, I resolved to never marry Tim Hogue (as if someone were going to make me do it). But God has a sense of humor. Tim continued to pursue me through instant messenger, phone calls, and winter retreats at camp. I didn’t understand what he could like about me, so I decided to let go of some of my prejudice and get to know him better. Finally, on February 1st, 2006, we admitted our interest to one another. We agreed to start seeing each other, but to be smart about it. We didn’t have anything to worry about.
I’ve learned a lot about Tim. You can’t write someone off based on a few misunderstandings. His character far outshines his quirky personality (which I have come to adore). His heart is beating for Christ, and his life is dedicated to service. He knows how to love unlike anyone I’ve seen before. He is humble and gentle underneath his comical demeanor.
He proposed to me on my birthday, August 17, 2006. We were married on May 12, 2007, and our life has just begun.
ambition
After having been my entire life very picky about what I want to accomplish before I die, I decided that really only one thing matters. Yes, I’ve always wanted to have a large house and a big back yard for my future children to romp in. Some of my goals to complete by age 60 included writing a book, owning a small bookstore/coffeeshop, and becoming a perfect parent (naturally ;) ). But now that I’m entering the post-college, marital phase of life, I fully understand that my dreams are romantic, expensive, and idealistic.
So when I put it all into perspective, I am forcing myself to set realistic, reachable goals. Not that I don’t believe a girl can dream big, but I want to develop a good head on my shoulders before it is too late. I want to lead a simple life.
So here it is: My ultimate goal in life is to become a person worthy of responsibility.
Luke 16:10-12, Jesus says, “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?”
I want to live my life being faithful in every task that God gives me, and in any period of my life. If God gives me a job working with a detestable person, I want to be faithful in loving that person. If God takes something or someone away from me, I want to be faithful in praising Him no matter how unfair it seems. If God gives me just what I need to survive and I have no excess wealth, I want to be faithful in good stewardship and giving back to God what is already His.
I want to take what God gives me and invest it, like the two servants in Luke 19:11-26.
When we are faithful serving in small areas, God gives us bigger areas to serve in. And that is when we are allowed to dream big.
let there be space
My boss gave me $20 to Family Christian Stores, and there I purchased The One Year Chronological Bible, in the New Living Translation. It is the entire Bible arranged in the order the events actually (or probably, in the case of Job, etc.) occurred. Very awesome concept, I’ve been wanting this Bible for a year at least. So of course I have to try to read through it this year, and I probably won’t be able to finish it, judging by my track record. But I’m going to try very hard, of course.
Here is an excerpt from yesterday’s reading. Don’t skip over it just because you’ve read it a million times, because I really like the way the NLT translates these verses.
The Account of Creation
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”
And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.
Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. God called the space “sky.”
And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.
Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:1-10, emphasis added)
So check out what I’ve italicized above. “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth…God called the space ’sky.’” I get this picture in my mind of a great body of water being split in half by this empty space called “sky.” And from that point on, God only described what was happening to the waters beneath the sky. No more is said about the “waters of the heavens.”
And do you ever wonder why God didn’t tell Moses to record the creation of the other planets? Was it because Earth is the only important planet? Or because He knew man would discover them eventually anyway? Or because each planet has its own story and this one is just about Earth? Or because the universe was created specifically FOR Earth?
Concerning the Sun and Moon, Genesis records, “God set these lights in the sky to light the earth” (Gen. 1:17). They are there FOR the Earth. At least that’s how it sounds. Well anyway, that’s my theory for why there is not life on other planets. I believe the other planets are just rocks, and they are the way they are because they are either too close or too far from the Sun. The Earth was set in place so that it could support life, and the other planets could never do that because of where they are.
Regardless, it just fascinates me how you can translate the Bible into the simplest language and still have a thousand questions. Don’t even get me started on my theories about Heaven and the New Earth.
