Getting Stronger

I visited a physical therapy center today. A member of our church is staying there for a few weeks in order to recover from recent surgery. I visited with her for a while and left when one of her therapists came into the room to start the morning therapy session. It all seemed very familiar to me as I passed by the main therapy room and saw the type of equipment that I became accustomed to using. There is a strap that is placed around an individual’s torso when taking part in physical therapy and I saw many of those familiar fashion accessories as I walked through the halls.

Later in the day I purchased a few 36 packs of soda for my wife at Costco. As I unloaded them at home I took the same route going in and out that I took as I entered the house when initially coming home from the hospital after the accident. Between the path that I was taking at my house and the time spent at the therapy center earlier, my mind went back to the day when I returned home after being in the hospital and therapy center for a month and a half. It was a little weird to go there mentally but it led to a time of rejoicing within my heart. I was once pretty much debilitated physically. Coming home that one day for the first time and walking into the house was a real physical challenge for me. Today, I was carrying these heavy boxes of soda in each hand and maneuvering in and out of my house as though it was nothing. There are times when my mind goes back to the most difficult of days within this journey that I have been on as a result of the motorcycle accident, but today every memory was a source of rejoicing and thanksgiving as I considered how much better things have become over time. I have found that a strong and positive mental perspective is equally as important as the physical work involved in conquering the things that are going on with my body.

Visiting a physical therapy center is a little strange for me because of my past experiences, but it wasn’t the first time since I ended my own sessions, and it won’t be the last. My duties as a pastor require that I go to medical care type of facilities with a degree of regularity in order to visit people who need compassion and a spiritual uplift. It always sets my mind to thinking back, but today the soda boxes allowed me to set my mind on thinking forward instead. May God bless my wife’s caffeine addiction.