After forty-six years of living, I experienced something for the first time. I ruptured my Achilles tendon while playing tennis with my brother. I have heard stories of others who have experienced such an injury but going through it for myself has been surreal. It all began with my hearing this unbelievably loud pop and feeling the vibrations shooting up into my head. I knew exactly what had just happened.

As a result of this injury, I had to go through surgery for the first time. Never had I been under a knife or having to be put to sleep. Wow! However, lessons are learned when you are placed in situations never encountered before. I am learning to shave and brush my teeth while standing on one leg; I am learning to move around with the aid of crutches; I am learning to shower with a garbage bag wrapped around my leg and I am learning to be totally dependent on my wife to care for me. I am learning to be more patient with myself since everything I do takes at least four times longer. I am also learning to preach from a "hoveround" - a motorized wheel chair because I can place no weight on my injured leg. All interesting lessons indeed. However, I think the greatest lesson I am learning is that life can catch us by surprise. Things we take for granted all of a sudden become more challenging. These unexpected surprises force us out of our comfort zones and cause us to evaluate the way we do everything.

I am just two weeks into my new experience of not being able to walk around freely but I know that there are more lessons to be learned. My biggest desire is that I will be a good student and learn everything that God wants to teach me.

I will keep you up to date on what He teaches me.

With love,
Jay