Grace Enough

Well.

Yesterday didn’t quite turn out the way I had planned!

We had gone over to the Dorchester County Visitor’s Center in Cambridge, Maryland, which is on the Choptank River, feeding into the Chesapeake Bay. We spent about a half an hour in the center, talking to the two delightful ladies at the desk, and had gotten information, maps, and uploaded a audio for the Harriet Tubman self driven tour.

The water was so beautiful, and the weather was so pleasant, so we decided to walk down to take a look at the water and the shoreline before we started the tour. It was a downhill boardwalk and we were just walking along, holding hands, laughing and talking, when just that fast I was flat on my face. Here there was a board that had warped up about an inch, with a nail, sticking up approximately eight inches in from the edge of the boardwalk and somehow my foot caught it and I suppose since we were going downhill, the force just put me flat down. I had no time to even think! It was like one minute we were happily walking along, and a millisecond later, I was flat on my face! I was immediately aware of a really sharp pain in my right side, just above my hip and a very bad bump on my head but my first thought was one of extreme disappointment and sadness. Intuitively, I knew that our golden day was going to be cut short.

“Lord Jesus,” I prayed silently through the tears that sprang violently to my eyes, “I’m in desperate need of grace!”

There was none of the usual, immediate jumping to my feet to see who was watching. I lay there, hurting, and feeling like something must certainly be broke. There was no blood, and I could move all my extremities, but there was a serious goose egg rising on my right eyebrow, although my glasses and my nose were unscathed. There was a kind man who came running over from the playground where he was playing with his son, and he and Daniel helped me get up. He was most concerned and kind. When we deduced that I could, in fact, walk, he quietly returned to his son, and Daniel helped me to the car.

(It happened on the partly hidden walkway that goes about through the middle of the picture, towards the right side! I know they were planning to fix it because there was some orange paint on the grass, but I never saw it, and besides, it wasn’t very noticeable)!

The first order of business was to get ice We found a ziploc plastic bag in the console of the minivan and Daniel drove around the corner to a gas station and got ice for the throbbing goose egg on my forehead. We debated about what we should do. I was feeling so miserable, but I really wanted to go on the tour. Certain Man was gentle in his advice and we decided to come home. So I sat in my chair with an ice pack off and on for the rest of the day, trying to keep from getting too black and blue (which may have worked better than I think, but I’m not impressed). I told Daniel this afternoon that I wish I could find a hole that I could crawl into and stay there! But anyhow!

I consulted with Deborah concerning the pain in my side and we think it is probably just a pulled keloid or adhesion or something like that. We are going to watch it just to make sure nothing else develops but I think it’ll be okay. It is much better this morning. (Maybe it has just melted into the “day after” aches and pains and isn’t as noticeable, but I’m sure that it isn’t nearly like it was)! Yesterday, I just wanted to cry, but today I am finding so many things to be grateful about.

Christina and Deborah have been so worried and solicitous, and Daniel has been so kind and helpful, even though I know he is disappointed, too. Yesterday was a day we decided we would finally use to maybe make something good out of a week that has gone so wrong. Our chickens went out, Daniel took the week off and we were planning a “Staycation” for the whole week. We had hoped to do any of a number of fun things locally, but I got sick with a bad chest cold so we’ve just stayed home. I felt better yesterday morning, so we decided to go. It was such a beautiful day and we were having such a lovely, happy time. We were both looking forward to the tour. But I guess it wasn’t to be.

Guess what! God didn’t make me fall on that old boardwalk stretch, however He wasn’t surprised (but I sure was)! And Grace was freely given to me, through kind words and helping hands and sympathetic murmurs, and the sweet, sweet comfort of the Holy Spirit.

So, Yes! There are many reasons for my heart to give grateful praise.