Helpless…Not Hopeless

There have been a few times in my life when I felt helpless. It’s not that I’m without help, but in a particular situation, I can do nothing without someone or something rising to my helpless challenge.

Specifically, I’m writing about my recent surgery. Plantar Fasciitis. The problem has been with me a year and there’s been nothing good about it. I’ve hobbled through life with this pain from an inflamed nerve, and no amount of therapy, orthotics, special shoes, or injections has helped.

Surgery it is.

Little did I know, and I’m sure I could have been better prepared, but my house is not crutch-friendly. Nor is my body. It’s been tough these first few days of recovery. I’m stuck in my bedroom, attempting to get from chair to bed to bathroom… all within 100 square feet.

In advance, I could have moved stuff, removed doors, bought a recliner, and practiced with crutches before I needed them.

This has been worse than my meniscus tear surgery a few years ago. Then it was my right knee, and I had that problem for 50 years. Today, it’s my right foot that I am not supposed to put any pressure on at all. That means walking with one leg, two crutch posts, and a dangling foot with a heavy boot.

Whew! Helpless!

Little did I know, and here, I’m not sure I could have done anything differently, but my body wasn’t ready for the surgery. As a 14-year-old, crutches were fascinating, and I flew with them when my knee messed up and the meniscus started its journey to a full tear. Today? Too heavy, too old, and way too slow… I guarantee that the first “too” item is something I’m going to handle, but it will take a while – after I can move around, of course… The other two… are just a fact of life.

It’s not hopeless.

My bride is with me. She’s my hope and help. I’m not sure I would have survived by myself.

This got me to thinking about others.

This world is full of people who are helpless and hopeless. By themselves, they face challenges bigger than my little surgery. From health issues to homelessness and food lines to begging on the corners of life. From earning enough to barely scraping by. As age creeps in, life speeds up.

When someone loses their life’s helper and is now facing challenges without help or hope, how tragic it is to think there’s no one to run to their side. Children? We live all over the place. Who can be there in the middle of the night? Emergency services, of course, if you can reach them.

I’m thankful my bride, though harried by the challenge and work, can take care of my situation. For all those others, I wish there was an easy solution.

At the church, I’m thankful for those who do seemingly thankless tasks. There is a reward for them, and the Lord knows who will do it without considering a return of honor.

“I commend to you Phoebe our sister,
who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea,
that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints,
and assist her in whatever business she has need of you;
for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also.
Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 16:1-3, NKJV)

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