Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Sport or Fitness (02/15/07)
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TITLE: A Bump in the Road | Previous Challenge Entry
By none none
02/21/07 -
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“I wish you could walk faster, John!” Beth McAllister loved her husband, but she really needed to reach 15,000 steps today. She glanced at the clicking pedometer on her waist. “How about if I go ahead and loop back to meet you?”
“Fine,” quipped John. “If I get tired I’ll wait in the Jacuzzi.”
Beth jogged ahead. “I worked hard to get in shape,” she murmured. “I wish John would understand.” Beth tried to convince John to exercise. Today was a rarity – he had actually agreed to come to the gym. She usually worked out alone, since John didn’t share her enthusiasm for physical activity. Beth was a fitness fanatic. She loved her body – worked hard to stay fit. It just required discipline. Besides, if John had taken care of himself after he sprained his ankle, he would be in better shape. There was nothing she could do about it.
That evening at home, Beth perused her latest issue of “Perfect Body” magazine. She found some new weight training exercises to try before bedtime.
Morning brought a misting, gray, drizzle. It swallowed Beth’s car as she maneuvered rush hour. Beth worked in purchasing. Between her job and fitness regimen, she had little extra time. She got up everyday at 4:00AM and exercised for an hour, then a speedwalk at lunch to help manage stress. After work she swam at the gym.
Beth’s mind raced. After the gym tonight she would find something quick for dinner and rush home to pack for her business trip. Tomorrow she would get up even earlier to workout before driving to the airport. “It’ll be a long week,” she thought. Being in great shape would help her handle it.
Lost in her thoughts, Beth didn’t notice the brake lights on the car in front of her. Nor did the truck behind see hers. She slammed the brakes. “Screeeech! Crash!”
“Mr. McAllister, I reconstructed her spine as best I could. She should be able to walk, but recovery will be slow – it could take a year.”
“Thank you, doctor.” John was glad Beth had pulled through the six-hour surgery.
John lingered in Beth’s hospital room doorway. Two physical therapists were moving her. She groaned in pain. They helped her to a sitting position, placed a walker before her.
Beth pushed herself up, gripping the walker tightly. Her voice wavered, “I’m glad I have arms.” She shuffled forward slowly. One step, then two. She made it to ten, arms trembling, fatigued from supporting her frame.
“That’s enough for today,” one therapist said gently. “You can walk. That’s promising.”
Beth was discharged two weeks later. She had progressed to walking with a cane. On the ride home, every bump sent pain reeling through her. John noticed, slowed the car to a crawl. Beth was exhausted, needed to sleep.
At home, several weeks later, John glanced out the bedroom window. “Beth, it’s a gorgeous day. Let’s take a walk.”
Beth was waking from a mid-day nap. She couldn’t believe her ears, “You want to take a walk?”
“The doctor said you need to increase your activity. You’ve been sleeping so much lately. Maybe it’ll lift your spirits.”
This was Beth’s first day outside since the accident. She leaned strongly on her cane. Pain shot down her leg, into her foot. She fatigued quickly. “John, can you slow down a little, please? I can’t keep up.” Beth was out of breath.
“Oh, sorry.” John slowed his pace considerably.
The air was fresh and clean. As they walked, Beth noticed wild flowers in the field – purple, white, orange. She wondered whether they were there last year – hadn’t remembered them before. She caught a glimpse of a cardinal in the bushes, a woodpecker on an old, rotten tree. Beth was always too busy before to enjoy nature.
A nearby neighbor waved hello. “What’s her name again?” Beth asked John quietly. Beth realized she’d never bothered to learn it.
“Francis,” John responded.
Tears filled Beth’s eyes. “I guess I haven’t been paying attention.”
John smiled kindly. “You had other priorities.”
That night, Beth prayed with a convicted heart, “Heavenly Father, I was so self-centered on my apperance, I missed life. Forgive me. I don’t know what’s next, but thank you for showing me how to walk again – slowly.”
Lovingly, God spoke to her heart, “I’ve missed you, Beth. Hold My hand. I will lead your way from here - slowly.”
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I wasn't sure about the accuracy of the medical timeline, and a personal preference would be to write something like "The sounds of screeching tires and crunching metal resounded..." rather than putting the sounds themselves in quotation marks.
Isn't it something, the way God stirs up our lives and works through circumstances?