When the world knocks you down: Waking up with a purpose

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Chris Simmons
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Sometimes it can be hard to understand why certain things in life happen. It sometimes seems that just as your life starts getting good, the world comes to knock you down. What do I mean? I was at a point in my life where everything was going right. Classes were going well, I had a great part-time job, and an internship lined up for the summer. But just as sudden as it all came, a storm came into my life and wreaked havoc. While playing basketball with friends I was going up for a layup and felt an unusual feeling in the back of my foot when I came down. The storm came and it brought pain. That’s how I felt when I found out I tore my Achilles tendon.

At the Doctors

The doctor came back after looking at the x-rays and said there was a partial tear in my Achilles. I was shocked, but still remained optimistic because at least it was not fully torn. So now I’m wondering what’s next? Her advice caught me off guard. The doctor said I needed to get an MRI then come back to get a cast put over my foot and see if I need surgery. I was speechless. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. At that point, I had no choice but to do what the doctor said. I was too emotionally hurt to say anything, so when she put the boot on, I walked out without saying a word.

Man…..the pain was starting to run deep. When I got home, I went outside on the back porch and just sat there for 5 hours listening to music. I needed to clear my mind from all this mental stress.

Wise Words

While I was sitting outside, my dad came out to check on me. He asked if I was doing alright and my frustrations started coming out one by one. I expressed how hard it was to deal with this type of physical and emotional pain when I felt like I had so much going for me. How it now felt like my desires had been pushed back because of my circumstances.

My dad looked at me and said “Son, you can’t sit around feeling sorry for yourself because of what happened to you. Life is going to keep going regardless. You have to keep your head up and know that your pain is going to bring you progress.” As frustrating as it sounded, I knew my dad was right. When he was finished talking to me I decided to lift my head up. At that moment, I realized what time it was.

It was time for me to stop feeling sorry for myself and use this pain to push me to greatness. I knew lying in bed all day wasn’t going to help my situation. I started waking at 4am because I wanted to push myself to rise above my injury. I lived by the verse Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” I decided to start waking up with a purpose.

 

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