A Longing in My Heart

A friend of mine Climbed Mt St Helens yesterday and I am so glad she made it. About 10 years ago I first heard about this climb when the group of interns from our church made the climb. Over the last few weeks as she prepared I couldn’t help but dream of one day being able to make that climb.

I have been working out with a few friends in the evening for the last 7 or 8 weeks. Working out in the evening is not my favorite thing. Working out in general is not something I really want to do. I know that keeping my body in shape will help me in the long run both physically and mentally and I have been telling myself and my friends for a few years now that I should exercise. With a big bomb, a little push and lots of encouragement I was enticed to go and join the PC Posse that works out at the “Y”.

The big bomb is that in April I reinjured my right knee and after getting an MRI done the doctor told me that the tendon in my knee is ‘shredded’, not torn, but shredded like Shredded Wheat. There is also other damage to the point that there is nothing that can be done to repair the knee short of doing a full knee replacement. This news hit me like a bomb especially since my left knee is also in need of a major repair and I have seen what knee replacement recovery is like since my mother has had three of them.

My motivation for working out is not to hang out with the RC Posse , it is not about getting in shape, it is not being able to participate in an event even though all of those are definite pluses. My motivation is about being able get through my normal day to day activities. I have no desire to give up on things like a walk along the beach or a hike in the mountains. I have a hope and a longing to one day climb Mt St Helens. Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

Scanning the Abnormal

Today I had an MRI on my knee. I tweaked it a few weeks back and after the most frustrating experience ever with my new insurance company I am finally getting it looked at by a specialist. I met with the doctor last Friday and he wanted to have an MRI done to see if there was any damage.

An MRI is basically a big Magnet and as the magnetic field is energized the atoms in the body react. A trained person can make out what is normal and what is abnormal by the images that are left. Normal tissue looks one way and abnormal tissue reflects the atoms in a different way. In my case they are trying to see if there is a tear in the tissue of the knee. I found it quite amusing today when the technician looked at the digital image of my knee and said, “There is a lot of inflammation in there”. I said, “I told you my knee was sore”. I have a really high pain thresh-hold so what I live with is more than most people can stand, but that is not the point of this post.

Normal verse Abnormal, both are made of atoms, both are in the same body, but they both react differently to the same situation. We our life as normal as possible, reacting to situations the way we are suppose to , but what happens when there is a slight abnormality in us and we react to common situations in abnormal ways? We over-react, we are too sensitive, or we fly off the handle during times that are normal. It is due to the slight tears in our character that can be caused by circumstances and pain. These tears are not visible and are not dealt with until we submit to a scan by a trained eye. It is only then when the tear is correctly diagnosed that we can receive the correct treatment and be made normal again. Allow your character to be scanned and you will be our running and jumping like a child again soon.