For as long as I can remember I did physical therapy and to this day I have my version of a love-hate relationship with physical therapy. If there are stories from my childhood that come out from my mom its mostly about how my brothers and I used to rough house and do everything together and they never took it easy on me which made me the tough cookie I am, but if it’s not a family story it’s about my stubbornness and willfulness that came out when people around me that their profession was to build me up physically to help me get stronger to keep walking, moving, and just overall healthy. I think it’s funny how the brain remembers those days and the names of my therapists even though the years have gone by and some I can’t say I remember but my mom does and reminders me of the girl who would stare down or roll my eyes at because they would ask me to do something that either seemed babyish to me or something I thought was in all honesty looked stupid!
Life brings us those memories I think for a reason and I think that if we were honest with ourselves it tells us a lot about our attitude towards life and situations we would never pick for ourselves but maybe God wants us to go through to help us toughen up and build a thicker skin to do not just physically demanding things but to help us get a glimpse of how the enemy wants to wear us down. To tire us to the bone and for our spiritual muscles to be weak to be unable to fight the most important battles that we need stamina for. This year I had two surgeries that made me unable to even stand up straight from sore scaring in my abdomen and the weak muscles that quickly dwindled because of being bed-bound and not using my abdominal muscles to stand and when it was time to get moving my body shook and felt like I could pass out the moment I even just tried to sit on the side of my bed! I’m the patient who can’t wait to get out of bed the moment my procedures and normally have a song in my head from my workout playlist on Spotify making me all pumped up to prove I can do anything. A personal favorite is by Lacrae and Andy Mineo, “Say I Won’t” because in my mind the enemy is my loudest doubter so if I claim this I will stand!
Well, this particular surgery knocked me off my typically hype personality even though I eventually got out of my bed it wasn’t just to stand but to balance and walk! I went to rehab in the hospital that month and every day a PT came to my room and said, “Let’s go for a walk…” That seemed so basic but it was exhausting just to get back and forth to that bathroom led along the hallway back and forth but ok. The PT I had the most consistently was so patient and she pushed me just enough to keep me going every single day twice a day to move. From hallway walks to stairs to workouts of muscles I didn’t even know I had to use! Every day I grind to build back what I used to have and with much frustration, tears, and every once in a while motivated music breaks to keep me pumped I was able to get past the basics and work on personal goals along with basic stamina workouts. My PT and I were talking and she asked me if I had ever had a personal trainer I told her no and she responded with, “I can be your trainer instead of your physical therapist!” Her words stuck with me and gave me a new sense of the process. People pay for personal trainers all the time in gyms and want someone to work with and to be intentional with so this is my version. The best part about a PT is that they know how to work with your specific specialized needs but also know how to challenge you in the exact way you need. From there on out I have viewed my PT as a personal trainer and even though there are still some exercises that I can’t stand, (Literally!) I can now see how it is beneficial and healthy to have help even if it’s not after surgery.
God provides people in our lives to challenge us and if were were honest we don’t like to be challenged, but how many times do we desperately need that change to make the change? Reading 1 Corinthians 9:27 and how it says, “I discipline my body” encourages me to not only discipline my body but to also discipline my mind spiritually to do that work and remember that this is my uphill battle and how I do it now is how I will do everything. I cannot write this topic without having walked through it.
1 Corinthians 9:27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I might be disqualified.
Be encouraged that it’s ok to cry.
Be encouraged that it will be hard.
Be encouraged that it will take time.
Be encouraged that you may have to do it multiple times.
But believe that it will all be worth it!
Blood, Sweat, Tears, Swelling, and Scaring only make you even more qualified to preach it later!
Take that Physical Therapy Session and turn it into a Personal Training Opportunity!
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