“The LORD will accomplish what concerns me; Your faithfulness, LORD, is everlasting; Do not abandon the works of Your hands.”—Psalm 138:8 (NASB)
Psalm 138:8 was the exact verse I needed to read this week. It reminded me of God’s unwavering faithfulness and love He has for me. I know He has a plan and purpose. He is not going to abandon what He has created me to do…. loving like Jesus through my hands and my heart.
Six weeks ago, I had hand surgery on my right hand. It was a minor surgery for a trigger finger. Week two, after my stitches were removed, the doctor told me I needed to focus on working out the scar as well as my finger stretches.
Living in the microwaving society that we have, most of us want quick fixes. I dealt with the trigger finger for 3 years, so surgery wasn’t something I just jumped into doing. However, full transparency, I did think I would heal quickly. I was sure I would back to doing my normal activities in short order.
I wasn’t given a whole lot of direction on physical therapy. In hindsight at my two-week follow-up, I should have requested it. My assumption was the more I did my exercises, the sooner I would heal.
I should also mention the doctor told me I could go back to the gym on week three, but not lift any more than 5 pounds. He didn’t specifically tell me not to be gripping. You may see where this is going. I need VERY specific instructions on what I can and cannot do.
When reading about the post-op, it said many people have full range of motion as soon as 2 weeks after surgery, but it can take up to a year. I skimmed right on over the latter part. I was going to be the success story since I was so diligently doing my physical therapy exercises.
During my 6-week follow-up this past Tuesday, my hand was achy, still had some swelling and my finger’s range of motion not near what I had envisioned. I was discouraged and asked how much longer he thought it would be for me to have full use of my hand. He was encouraging and told me to give it another 6 weeks. At this point the doctor knew I needed to see the physical therapist. He was concerned about the scar tissue build up as well.
As the PT was showing me all the exercises, I told him, yes, yes, I have been doing all these exercises as soon as I could. He then asked me how often I was doing them. I proudly told him, at least 5-7 times a day. Sometimes more. I also shared how I had been working out, but only using light weight.
He was very kind and said, ok. I can tell you really want to heal this as quickly as possible, but in this case, more is not better. I only want you to do these exercises 3 times a day as well as limiting the scar massage for 5 minutes also 3 times a day. And…absolutely no gripping of any kind of weight or exercise equipment for 6 weeks. Most people that are sent to me haven’t been doing anything. I can tell you will put in the work and do what needs to be done to heal this injury. On a positive note, he told as long as knitting didn’t hurt my finger, I could do it.
Again Psalm 138 gave me the needed comfort. The NLT version reads; “The LORD will work out his plans for my life— for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.” God will work out all the details in my life. I can have confidence knowing His plan for my life will be fulfilled.
The reality is I am not going to heal as quickly as when I was in my 20’s or 30’s. While I may not be whipping out as many knitting projects or able to work-out as I have been, I am able to modify things. It was a humbling experience being convicted of my microwave mentality.
Sometimes in life, God just wants us to slow down. Unfortunately for me, it took a surgery setback for me to listen. I even told the physical therapist, sometimes God needs to get my attention to get me to slow down. I got the message, Lord, loud and clear.
Father God,
Forgive me when I ignore Your nudges to slow down in life. I know You have a plan for whatever setbacks I encounter in life. Help me to see Your hand in my circumstances. I know You can work good out of all things. What I see as a disappointment, You can use to strengthen my faith and dependance on You. For as your Word says, “Your faithfulness, LORD, is everlasting.” I pray these things in Your Precious Son, Jesus’ name. Amen.
March Verse
“ So I realized that all we can do is be happy and do the best we can while we are still alive.—Ecclesiastes 3:12 (GNT)
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