Dislocating my knee cap 16 times

Two months in a brace, fluid filling up in my knee with no mobility, would I ever be the same again? I remember like it happened yesterday the first time I had reconstructive knee surgery. Awaking from surgery, pondering how bad the damage was in my knee?  I was told I could be playing ice hockey in 3-6 weeks before going under the knife, caused optimism. After surgery, I asked  how long was I out for? The doctor told me three months, I thought they meant from ice hockey, they meant from walking without a brace.

I had a problem with my left knee cap dislocating from second grade to my sophomore year college. About every six months my knee cap would dislocate, I would throw it back in myself and by the time my senior year of high school I was back up to about 90 percent after a week. Every doctor told me my major knee ligaments were fine, go to physical therapy and I would be better. Finally I saw a good doctor. Dr. Dodds and Amy Worthing (Name could be misspelled) saw pictures of my knee and I will quote Dr. Dodds, “Dude, it doesn’t look good.” While she told me the same thing every doctor told me, she said there is something wrong with your knee. They went out of the room to check on some of my x-rays and I heard them talking outside the room before entering in. Dodds said, “Man it sucks to have to go into a room and tell someone they need surgery.” She then opened my door.

My knee was jacked up but it wasn’t until they opened my knee up to see how bad it was. Each time I dislocated my knee cap they found a crack on my knee cap. I had so much scar tissue floating around with torn cartilage, it was a mess. After going to physical therapy for two months without much change. I wondered if I would ever be the same again? It’s scary to think that life can change and you don’t know if it will ever be the same again.

If I didn’t improve, I would have the same exact problems, this can happen in others areas of life and even the church. Just like I put everything I had into making my knee strong again, Paul did the same with the Corinth church. The Corinth church just like many churches today, had issues. He spent a lot of time and a couple mission trips there to help the church out. Paul put all his time and effort into making the church succeed. Yet he was worried about the church and if they ever listen to what he told and worked with them on.

Paul was concerned, 2 Corinthians 20-21…

“For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.”

The church can have issues. Just like we need to work on different area’s of our own life, so does the church. If we didn’t work on issues with our own lives we would grow stagnant. Paul was worried the pride, gossip, division and disorder would still be prevalent in the church. If the church didn’t work on these issues, turn away from sin things wouldn’t improve. We all need to try to improve.

Looking back in time can be a blessing and curse. I was worried when my physical therapy wasn’t going well, but it got better and my knee fully recovered. When issues happen in the church they need to be address and if they are swept under the rug, nothing will improve. The same can be said about life. Improvement needs to happen in all aspects of life.

Where do you need improvement in your life? If you feel like you are stuck in a rut, what can you do today to start improving? If there are problems be part of the solution not the problem.

Have a great day.

If you don't think it's broke, then does it need to be fixed?

It’s hard to fix something you don’t think is broken.

A friend put on their Facebook how they missed diagnosed their daughters injury and it was actually a break and  not something smaller.

It actually happens more than you would think.

I was 14 and playing little league catcher.

I was known for going after any foul ball and a light pop up was hit in foul territory in between first and home plate.

I threw off my mask and ran after it.

I didn’t see a rock and tripped.

With a bent hand, my wrist crashed into the ground.

I was in pain.

My coach asked if I was alright and I said yes thinking I just jammed it.

After going home my mom wrapped it up and I didn’t think anything of it other than the pain when touching it.

I thought that pain would go away, it did not.

After about three days of keeping it wrapped up my mom said, why are you still wrapping it up it should be healed by now, put the wrap away.

I said it still hurt and said replied, “Let me see it.”

I show her my wrist and she pushed on a couple of different spots until I shrieked in pain.

With a shocked face she said, we may need to get that checked out.

It was broken.

I was in a cast for three weeks and then it healed up on its own.

I don’t hold any hate against my mom for not taking me to the doctors, I thought it was just a sprain too.

Sometimes we are more broke then we realize.

We are broke more than just physically.

In Acts 8, the church was scattered because Saul made a mission to kill or through Christians in jail.

The church spread.

Phillip was one of the people that scattered.

He preached God’s word and was able to heal many people.

It says this in Acts 8:6-8…

“When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.  With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed.  So there was great joy among the city.”

Phillip went out, shared the message of Jesus and through that message and the power Jesus gave him, he was able to heal the people.

He healed people that nobody else could heal.

They were broken, just like many of us today.

We have issues that nobody else knows about that we struggle with on an everyday basis.

We think, why do I have to be the one suffering through this.

Sometimes those same people that are struggling so much are the same people that when asked would say, I’m good.

We all have issues and are broken at times.

If we don’t admit this, then we can get fixed.

I met a guy the other day that had a lot of pride. 

He was going through some issues and could use some help, but he wouldn’t accept anything.

He thought the problem lie with the other person he had issues with and as a result, he never got better.

We can’t fix what we don’t think is wrong.

If the people came up to Phillip with their issues and said, hey great message but I think I can handle this on my own that would make no sense.

Sometimes we need help in life, but we have to realize there is a problem.

Do you have an issue that isn’t resolved.

Maybe it time to fess up and seek help.

I know the times I have messed up in my life, I am glad I have Jesus in my life.

I messed up and struggle with different issues.

If I didn’t have Christ in my life, I don’t know where I would be right now.

What do you need help in?

Who can you seek help from?

Have a great day.

It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye

There are some sayings I remember as a kid, this being one of them.

There are things I used to do I couldn’t imagine Nevaeh doing now.

As kids we did all sorts of stuff, there are things that would completely scare me if my daughter did them at her age that I used to do.

I remember playing in Washington Park behind our house.

My brother Zach and I loved to climb trees.

There were these two trees by the softball field we loved to climb.

The trees went up about 75-100 feet.

We would climb them often.

I think about those trees how tall they were, how we loved to feel a big wind gust hit us and make us feel like we were falling.

Man, how did we not get hurt more often?

This past weekend we were at our family camping trip.

I think we had 62 members of our family there.

It was awesome.

With that many people someone is prone to get hurt.

I had to make a couple of trips to the ER with one being Connor.

Connor started to say his foot hurt and by the end of one day he was limping.

The next morning I took him up to the hospital.

After about 3 hours up at the hospital, found out he sprained his ankle.

I love kids though, the next day, he was completely healed and running around again.

Thank you God.

Some bad things happen during the day, but it can be more challenging when there is no light around.

Some of the injuries of the weekend took place at night.

I almost fell down a hill at night when I stepped in a low spot and heard my toes crack, I was okay, but bad things can happen without light.

I could have taken a huge fall but, thankfully I did not.

Jesus tells us this in John 12:35-36…

““For a brief time still, the light is among you. Walk by the light you have so darkness doesn’t destroy you. If you walk in darkness, you don’t know where you’re going.”

We know about literal light and darkness, but it goes beyond that in these verses.

Jesus made it known he was the light.

The light was still around the people, but soon Jesus would move on and it would be dark.

Not dark literally, but there would be an empty feeling inside.

I know about that empty feeling.

Before knowing Christ, I tried to handle everything on my own.

The problem was, I couldn’t.

No matter how hard I tried, I could not do it.

Sometimes the harder I tried, the more I failed.

Then Christ came into my life.

I am still a sinner and still make mistakes, but I have light to look forward to.

No matter what, there is still light at the end of the tunnel even during dark times.

Some points in my life, that was the only thing that gave me hope, that Jesus was still there for me.

Sometimes we feel hopeless in life.

It happens.

Jesus is there to be a guiding light when we feel nothing else is.

We have hope again.

We get hurt.

We feel lost.

We feel depressed.

We can still have hope, because of what Jesus did for us.

He was a light when there was none.

Have hope in Jesus.

Have a great day.