You may have heard the phrase “they put their pants on one leg at a time.” This usually means, the person you are talking about is not superhuman, they don’t defy gravity, they are just like you, they put their pants on one leg first, then the other. This phrase relates to my story a bit differently, since the fall of 2011 I have put my pants on a certain way.
We all have life-changing events, be them big or small, and mine came in Aug 2011 when I had a pretty violent motorcycle accident. This left my right leg pretty messed up and after 8 surgeries they were able to save my leg.
After months of progress, suffering, God’s grace and lots of therapy; I was able to walk and eventually my leg was able to bend to a 95 degree angle. Being a bigger guy that means getting into small spaces, getting up from a low chair and even putting on my pants in the morning, can be a struggle. I quickly learned that if I put my right leg (bad leg) in first, I could more easily get my flexible leg into the remaining pant leg, while right leg first didn’t really work. At first I would forget and get stuck trying to bend low enough to get my right leg in second and had to reverse course. Now I am conditioned to always lead with the right.
For me this has become a metaphor for life. We all have events that have left us changed, be it physical, mental or spiritual. None of us defy the gravity of a fallen world. I am reminded daily of my accident, God’s grace that spared me and my own adjustments to get through this fallen world. Some day, the Lord will give me back two good legs, until then I live in His grace with a limp and an inflexible reminder. This is my story.
What about you?
How have you seen the Lord provide for you in your difficult moment?
How are you marked and reminded of difficult days?
It is not fitting for us, as those redeemed by Christ, to act like we “don’t put on our pants on leg at a time.” We may be marked by these past moments, but they are part of our story and only as we own them can we glorify God in them.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV
In Christ,
Mark W. Brown
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