The Injury | UMC YoungPeople
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October 2010

The Injury

By: Nan Hurd

This June, I was in Malaga, Spain for a two-week leadership-training course. One thing that I’ve been thinking about quite a bit since I went is “the injury”. On the first day of the course, I was jumping on the trampoline at the main house we were based in with my friend Doug. I asked him to double bounce me, which makes the second person fly really high into the air. Well about the time that he jumped I panicked. I didn’t jump and he did which jarred my knee. I felt pain all of a sudden and a strange clicking sensation.

I sat down and was hoping with all my might that it was going to be better in a few minutes. I really didn’t want to make a fuss and get attention so I kept the injury low-key. When it was time for the 30-minute walk up a super steep hill to our house I didn’t know what to do because I couldn’t walk without extreme pain. I started walking and told someone what happened but I’m not sure they understood the pain I was in. Luckily one of the people hosting us drove by with someone else and I was able to get a lift.

I went to sleep and the next morning it was even worse. Swollen and unable to stand on it or move it, I decided to walk down the hill 1 hour early. It took me 20 minutes to get around the first 60 feet. By this time I was at a gate to a house where there was an older disable man was in an electric wheelchair. By the grace of God I was able to understand his Spanish asking if I wanted a ride down. I thankfully agreed. By the time he came with the car two of my friends had joined me. He very graciously took us all the way to the second house.

That was in June and now it’s October and my knee isn’t healed yet. It’s much better but I’m still limited in what I can do and I still have pain. On the bright side God’s been speaking to me loads through my bum knee. First of all, these points I pull out are from the background of my bum knee representing something in my life that cripples me spiritually.

One of the thoughts is how my knee keeps me from doing things the way I should. I can’t run, I can’t walk fast or for long times, I can’t stretch, I can’t bend, I can’t move it in certain ways, I can’t jump, I can’t roller skate and who knows what else I can’t do. When there’s something that’s crippling me spiritually there are so many things that I limited in and can’t do. I can’t go where God wants because I’m crippled. Also, my bum knee keeps me from doing fun things. I miss out on so much because I can’t physically do it. So it is spiritually. When something’s crippling me I miss out on fun and adventures with God as well.

My knee is also painful. I notice it all the time. When you’re spiritually crippled it’s painful.

I’m not sure why my knee isn’t better, it’s been a while and I haven’t done things that are too physically exerting but it’s just not getting better. I even went to the doctor in England and he just said that it’d take a while to heal, nothing else. Part of me is wondering if I’ve not rested it enough and if I’ve used it too much even since the first day I hurt it. I’m going to a specialist when I come home for Christmas who will hopefully have some sort of explanation. But this made me think that if something is crippling you, you have to deal with it as soon as possible. The longer you wait the more risk you have of having permanent damage, which is what I’m afraid of.

See more devotions from Nan and our other Young Adult writers, or find our how you can become a writer yourself at our By Young Adults for Young Adults devotion page.