Monday October 24th was a beautiful day, as my sister and I set out for a walk. Little did I know of the interruption to my life that was just fifty minutes away. We had arrived at the beach on Saturday with our Mom, and were looking forward to a wonderful time of relaxing.

That morning, the pathway along 30A was busy so we decided to walk through a neighborhood. As we entered, the sidewalk was too narrow for two, so I took to the street. My sister has one speed—Fast! So, I was attempting to keep up with her and the conversation we had engaged in as we entered the subdivision. Soon I realized that the sidewalk had widened and would hold both of us; it was easier to talk side-by-side. As we crossed an intersection, I entered the sidewalk at the corner by her side. Just ahead of us was a tiled driveway. We were deep into a very serious conversation about using mulch versus pine needles in your landscape—we can often go from a very heavy topic to a very trivial topic, as we did that day.

Before I knew it, I was airborne. It was as if the tiles had leapt off the ground. I could hear my sister screaming and then I landed with a thump and immediate intense pain down my right side. I sat up and then felt faint. What I did next was quite comical; I looked at my sister with a dazed expression and said, I think I need to lay down. Can I lay down? To which she responded, Yes, you can lay down.

As I lay on the driveway, a man who witnessed my flight and landing ran over to check on me. I kept saying that I was alright and just needed to lay there for a few minutes. He and his sister insisted on giving us a ride back to our condo. I must admit, I was hurting and felt faint, I could not have finished the walk. We arrived at the gate and thanked them for the ride and their concern. I immediately laid on the couch, packed my arm and leg in ice, and took some medicine.

Three hours later, we were at the Urgent Care clinic. After some very painful x-rays, the PA announced that I had a broken elbow. Tears began to well up in my eyes, but after taking a deep breath and saying a prayer, I pushed them back down. The reality of being alone hit hard at that moment—no spouse to help me or care for me. This was my right arm, what would I do? I had spent my whole life using that arm. My left arm hardly knew it existed!! I wondered why I had felt compelled to get on the sidewalk, if only I had stayed on the street.

The next morning, I headed to the beach in my orthoglass splint. As I stood watching the waves, a lady approached me curious as to what had happened. She and her family were in chairs beside us two days before, so she knew the splint was new. Not only had she noticed us, but we had noticed her because of her hands and feet, which had been affected by rheumatoid arthritis. I told my story, then she told me hers. At the age of 19, she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Over the years, she has had numerous surgeries, taken a multitude of drugs, and has been unable to conceive children. As I listened, I realized that a broken elbow was an interruption to my life and an inconvenience, but it would heal and life would go back to normal. For this woman, she woke every day needing help, relying on others to assist her in menial tasks. I suddenly found myself grateful for the interruption of a broken elbow that gave me the eyes to see beyond myself and be blessed by a woman who looked beyond her everyday inconvenience to care about another human being. 

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. | Colossians 3:12 NIV

I pray this Thanksgiving will be a time of reflection on God’s goodness and that you will have eyes to see that even in life’s interruptions and inconveniences, you have much for which to be grateful!

Happy Thanksgiving! –Dianne