Walk with Me

Last February, the 2014 Winter Olympic Games were held in Sochi. Although my favorites are in the summer games, I did enjoy the enthusiasm in the new ski and snowboard events, along with the traditional competitions. I watched the ice skating and all the bobsledding. I was sad that the best events of curling and hockey were only aired in the earliest of early AM, but that is just the way it turned out this time.

Olympic events are fascinating and sometimes I wonder who came up with the category. Take bobsledding…it is like track and a rollercoaster ride, but with so much technique to maintain as you speed like a race car to the finish line. The training must be intense, as any of the other sport categories. As I watched the bobsled event, I was texting my friend. She mentioned the movie, Disney’s 1993 Cool Runnings, and asked if I had ever watched it…and if not, then I should. Just the way life unfolded so quickly, I did not watch the movie until the first part of October. I think I appreciated it more then, as I had been dependent on my walker since the beginning of summer and at the time, slowly recovering from the eye surgery and major fall in September.

Cool Runnings is about the first bobsled team from Jamaica. Talk about major training—these were track sprinters aiming for the chance to be on the Summer Olympic team and represent their nation. After a mishap on the track, the planschanged and even though everyone from their hometown and the teams from around the world doubted them, they came together—with Jamaican pride—and entered the finals, finishing last with the greatest respect from all.

Before the team takes the starting sprint, they say a chant on the final round about feeling the rhythm and bobsled time, ending in a shout (because it is listed in all caps in the captions)—COOL RUNNINGS! I did not know the history behind this first team, so I am cheering for them and find my mouth drop when the sled wrecks on the final turn. Inspirational teary eyes watch as the team gets up and carries the sled through the finish line. I often think of that scene. However, it is more along the lines of the chant. When I stand, my left leg will sometimes need a “starting boost.” I bob my knees up and down a few times, which in motion, rocks the walker back and forth. I just want to shout “Cool Running” and take off down the hall; only problem is that if I fell, I cannot pick myself up and the only line I can foresee crossing, would be the threshold of the ER. And I doubt there would be cheering or clapping.

Not all hope is lost though, as just the other day, I got my wish for the bobsled experience in walker form. Mom and I pulled into the small, five spaced, car parking lot…in which the only slot left happened to be the handicapped (van accessible) slot. After hanging the sign, Mom gets out to retrieve my walker from the trunk; I gather my bag and proceed to open my door and hoist my legs out in twist-to-right fashion . I take note that the whole column—where you should see the diagonal lines signifying the handicap lane usage—is covered in rough winter terrain. Mom is walking fine, so my thought is that it is crunchy snow peaks…no big deal. Nope. I stand, take one step and realize this is a stretch of glaciers!!

“Ohhh, it’s ice,” I whimper. Mom is gripping my left elbow and quickly closes the car door, then we slowly get to the dry sidewalk. I depend on my walker, but out of the house, I also depend on other people. For safety, for strength. Last  night, Mom and I went shopping for basic necessities and groceries. Because Mom can’t push a wheel chair and cart simultaneously, I stayed close to the front end, getting a few things, while Mom took Pharmacy and groceries. I told Mom, “I’ll be careful,” but even as I slowly made my wobbly way to the socks, I was nervous. I started praying for Jesus to be my legs and then started singing a song we taught the kids at Street Church…it is just the verse Philippians 4:13 with a tune.

I found my Bible the other day when doing some rearranging in my room. It is a smaller, possible 5×7 size, which means small print and I have not used it since eye surgery…I have been using the Olive Tree app on my Nook, but there is nothing compared to holding the Bible. Pages winked from back and forth reading, underlining, side notes—times in life when God showed you something or you understood in ways different. I want to see those markings, remember and read the underlined verses…but I cannot. I cannot see them. I did order a table magnified glass that includes an LED light. When it arrives, this is my first viewing.

The truth is, in loosing vision—and the possibility of blindness—I have been convicted. In Spirit. Why is it so easy to memorize songs and movie lines but struggle with what is the most important…the Words of Life.

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4