"SHOULDER BONE CONNECTED TO THE..."

I've been meaning to blog for quite some time but, circumstances being what they are, I just have not found the right time. Ideally, time without interruption is best for me to write and there has been scarce little of that lately. Let me briefly explain:

January 19th, my husband, Mark, was injured in a snowmobile accident. He wasn't going fast or doing anything foolish...it was a freak thing. He was turning off the road into a driveway and the carbide on the bottom of a ski caught as he hit the brake to swing the rear of the machine, flipping the sled and throwing Mark off. He landed on the hard, icy road taking the full impact on his left shoulder and suffering a 3rd degree AC shoulder separation. In layman's terms, he tore all the ligaments holding the main shoulder bones in place -- the collarbone was shoved up and displaced by the top of the humerous being driven up into the shoulder socket. If this had happened in soft snow he wouldn't have been injured, but he hit hard on the ice and that did it.

We saw two orthopedic specialists. Neither recommended surgery and that was alright with us. Mark began physical therapy last week, is doing pretty well, but is unable to work. Being that the accident was not work-related, there was no workmans' compensation. His employer has subsequently laid him off, as they have no work he is able to do in his present condition. So we are collecting unemployment. It is about half of what he used to bring home, but we are thankful to have something steady to work with...I like a challenge.

Good thing I do, because there have been more challenges in this than just the financial aspect. It is a challenge to not worry, to be patient with a man sitting on the couch in pain and micro-managing my every move, to not get my feelings hurt when he doesn't listen to my advice or admonitions, to help our kids deal with their feelings of stress and anxiety, to find time for myself to be refreshed and renewed...to remember that our names are written on the palms of God's hands.

Through it all we have been amazed at how God is working in our lives: growing us in our faith, giving us opportunities to see His provision for our family, and proving His faithfulness. God is good -- ALL THE TIME.