This morning Caroline's message centred around the first three words of our 2 Timothy reading: Remember Christ Jesus. I had a lot to distract me this week with squirrelly juniors and lesson prep and return of the winter leg spasms. I really appreciated the moments of pause in the sermon this morning to recenter my own thoughts on Christ Jesus as I begin a week with the same squirrelly juniors along with my seniors back from their class trip. I want to keep my heart at attention before Christ my master as 1 Peter 3 says, disregarding opposition and making sure I'm doing my work to the best of my ability.
I wrote last week about how growth was possible for my mean students, and I'm happy to report I gave almost every student an A on their letter to someone who disagrees with them. To be clear, they earned the good grades by fulfilling the requirements of the rubric to be respectful in their representation and disagreement of another position. Including the student who was calling his peers stupid in class. I'm so proud of the growth to take time and understand another position well enough to give a paragraph overview - this is huge growth beyond dismissive and rude comments in class.
These moments of hope and growth mean a lot to me - especially heading into winter and the toll my body takes in the colder months. Anja came back from her holiday this past week, and we spent the time focusing on releasing tension built up in my shoulders as my gait on the treadmill has been putting more weight on my trunk to compensate for tightness in the hip flexors. I've been doing stretches in the hip flexors, but that's not enough (hence the regular physio sessions...). This week, I'm hoping that we can do some more work on calming down my calves and loosening up my hamstrings. The autumn winds like to send my legs into spasms that I can't easily stop. Everyone knows my preference is to sit outside with my coffee or tea to spend time in prayer whenever it's not raining, but I also have to consider how the outside element effects my nerve damaged legs. Wrapping them in blankets is not always enough, so I'll be more frequently perched next to my radiator (still wrapped in blankets) catching as much of the view from my window as possible.
One of the things I really miss post accident is prayer walks. I'm still asking for everything, so please join with me praying for the ability to walk again, but as I remember Christ Jesus this week, I will remember the ability I do have that was once taken. The second passage we read in church today was the ten lepers who Jesus healed but only the Samaritan came back to thank him. Whatever treadmill time I have this month, I want to be intentional to thank God that I'm safe enough to walk independently on a treadmill when that was in serious doubt during my months in rehab. It's October again, and that comes with mixed feelings for me (796 days and counting). I'm spending some serious time considering the effect of my ministry in order to evaluate how to best honour God with my giftings. Please pray with me this week for miracles not only in my body but in my heart to have clarity in how I can best be serving those around me.