ReAwakened

The blog has been quiet for several days, almost in a coma of sorts.  There is barely life from within, yet the urgency of the situation demands that life be breathed into it's bones once again.  Is it time to give up and go home?  Time to pack the shoes away and call it a day?  Oh no, for life and life abundantly is just beginning.  I have a new number, yes I do.  And within a week the number of pounds that remain and are needing to be lost is no longer 173, but 170.  9 pounds within 3 weeks, nothing short of a miracle quite honestly.  I have spent a lot of time reflecting the last few days, and the things that I have seen are devastatingly beautiful.  Mind if I share?

 When I was eleven years old, I was at the prime time of my basketball career.  I had just placed 3rd in the state of Indiana for my age group, and I was so excited and encouraged.  Months later as I was preparing to further my basketball career, I dislocated my hip.  The ball of my hip joint literally came out of socket and if not corrected immediately, one leg would be shorter than the other.  Needless to say, I had surgery and was not able to walk on that leg for nearly 9 months.  A year later, I went back to get cleared and the doctor informed me that I had dislocated the other one from walking on it too much.  I was devastated beyond words, speechless and in shock.  Within 3 years I had 3 surgeries, and little did I know how much life would change for me.  My doctor informed me that I would have the hips of an eighty-year old for the rest of my life, and I heard this news in the body of a thirteen year old.  I tried to keep playing basketball, and I never fully rebounded.  I could no longer sit on the ground or indian-style for that matter.  It didn't take much for my hips to wear out and ache.  And slowly but surely, I watched as my dream of a basketball career faded away.

Nearly 15 years later, the Lord gave me yet another dream.  This time?  To be a boxer, an amateur fighter.  I began watching fights on tv, reading books, and even purchased all the gear that I would need.  A friend of mine began coaching me, and I began fighting people on the side.  It didn't take long for me to discover that getting hit, hurt.  And that if I were going to go anywhere with this, I would need to get in much better shape.  So through a series of events and conversations with the Lord and direction from the Holy Spirit, I laced up my shoes once again to get serious about getting healthy and living out my dreams.


Last week as I was working out my hip began to ache again.  Needless to say, I was discouraged and frustrated.  I continued trying to work out, but the pain worsened and my determination was dropping like frozen rain upon the glass of my fragile soul.  By the end of the week, I was only completing 75% of my scheduled workouts, and even took an extra day off for rest.  I began to wrestle through this and sort through the things I was feeling.  Would I ever make it?  Was this all a lost cause?  Were my dreams meant to just be meditated upon in the stillness of the night?

Saturday evening some friends pulled me aside and wanted to talk with me.  They then handed me one of the most beautiful pictures ever, a wooden painting of some well-used boxing gloves and tickets.  And of course there was a note attached with encouragement and strength penned throughout.  The tears began flowing from my eyes as my heart began pumping and my spirits were lifted.  In that moment, a dream was reawakened within.  Moments later another dear friend of mine pulled me aside to say that the Lord had laid it upon her heart months ago to be praying for me and that I would be able to lose every pound that I wanted.  I began to cry and dance within, for I was reminded once again that yes, the Lord was behind it all.  And beyond the greatness of Him being behind it all, He was behind me and for me, cheering me on every step of the way.