Last Tuesday night, I had an injury that I had always feared would someday happen. It hurled my life out of balance and threw up an enormous obstacle in front of me.
----
Sneakers squeaked on the dusty court as the late night Tuesday basketball camp came to the last drill of the day. One on one match-ups.
The ball rotated seamlessly in my hands as I looked at my defender.
"In'n out dribble, right hand finish," my mind told me.
The sound of the ball hitting the floor echoed through the gym as I began my move.
Suddenly, my shoe hit a slippery spot on the floor, and my right leg slipped out in front of me. I lost control of the ball, and as I was falling, my defender came up aggressively, his knee smashing into the inside of my right knee. I felt a pop, and immediately found myself on the floor, clutching my knee to my chest as I gasped for air. Pain shot through my entire leg, and I lay there wishing that it would stop, wishing that this never happened, wishing that this was all a figment of my imagination.
Doubts rushed through my head as I suddenly had questions about everything: my leg, my future, my career, my life.
"How badly am I injured? Lord why did this have to happen to me? Is my bone broken? Are my ligaments torn? God I need you right now!"
I could only hope that my leg had a superficial injury, that it was all nothing, that it was just a scratch.
Minutes later, in what felt like an eternity, the pain eased up and I was able to slowly make my way to the bench, but I was still struggling with my doubts.
--
The next day, I went to my chiropractor. He took 5 x-rays of my knee, and assured me that all my bones were fine, but he wasn't sure if the reduced mobility in my leg was due to a ligament tear or just swelling.
We waited a few days, then I took a MRI, wishing for the best, wishing that somehow God had miraculously saved my knee from all serious injuries.
--
Friday at 4:46 PM, I received a message from my dad.
"Bad news Aaron. Your ACL is torn. I will schedule you to see an Orthopedic doctor for an assessment."
Suddenly everything became a blur.
I couldn't believe it.
"Me? No. It can't be. There must have been a mistake. It can't be true! What now God? I thought you were going to do amazing things through me. And now THIS? I don't understand. This was my love, my passion. And now it's gone? How long Lord? How long till I can play again? How long till it will all be back to normal? If it ever goes back to normal."
Basketball was my ticket, my pass to a successful future.
And it was ALL gone.
----
But the one thing that I will never lose, the one thing that no man can ever take away from me, the one thing that I will put all my trust in, is my faith in Christ. He alone is my rock and my redeemer.
Aaron Chan - 88
No comments:
Post a Comment