Prayers and Joy

During this week one year ago, we were preparing for Kate's second ACL surgery in just 9 months. We had watched our girl overcome a setback and battle through her recovery and rehab and far exceed goals and expectations set by the amazing team who wanted to help her come back. Kate has always been fiercely competitive and willing to put in the work, so, to us, it was not surprising in the least that she would excel at rehab, too. This left us ALL (including her PT and her surgeon) shocked when she ended up back at square one just days after being cleared to go back to the soccer field. It just didn't seem possible!

So, as we prepared for her to go back into surgery, I worried that this would be too much. That coming back from a second, more involved surgery and going through another recovery and another rehab would be too heavy of a burden to carry for a seventeen year old girl. That being kept away from being active the way that she loves would be depressing. That missing not one, or even two, but THREE seasons of the sport she has always loved more than anything would just be too big of a blow for her to come back from. 

And so I did the only thing I could do...I prayed. I prayed that she could find the good in all of this. I prayed that she would see that we all have lessons we must learn and our circumstances provide the opportunities for that growth to happen. I prayed that her spirit would not be broken and that she would be able to rise above this roadblock and see it for what it was: just a bump in the road. I prayed that she would know in her heart just how blessed she is and how many know suffering that is real and hard and always, and so this bump, however big it may feel in the moment, is truly so, so small. And while I prayed, I watched. I watched her battle and work and push. I watched her grow and mature and change. I watched her find the good in her circumstances and recognize them for what they were. I watched her find a passion for the idea of helping others walk this journey she's been on and I watched her find ways to use her gifts and talents and consider God's plan for her life.

And now, today, more than 21 months since we first watched our Kate fall on that soccer field in Kansas, I see joy in her face and she takes small steps back onto the soccer field. I see joy in her face as we visit colleges and consider where life may take her just one year from now. I feel her joy as she meets each milestone in this journey and reaches for the next. And I am so full of joy and so full of gratitude. Because I know how blessed we are. Our child is battling back from an injury that has kept her from something she loves, but so many watch their children battle illness and pain that keeps them from LIVING!! I pray for eyes to always see this and a heart that doesn't forget to be grateful. Above all, though, I pray for all those watching their children suffer, in any capacity, because, as parents, we suffer right along with them.

Thank you, God, for my many, many blessings.

Amen.