In an effort to start eating healthier, Allison and I have been making smoothies in the morning lately. I think I’ve got the one I really love down pat at this point. It’s got a great flavor and it’s packed with all sorts of good-for-you stuff.

* 8 ounces Mixed Frozen Berries (usually sold in Blueberry, Raspberry, and Blackberry Combo)
* 1 fully ripened Banana
* 4 ounces Vanilla Soy Milk
* 4 ounces Acai Juice
* 2 ounces Carrot Juice

Toss all these ingredients into the blender and give it a whirl. Delicious – Nutritious.

(Makes 2 Smoothies)

I’ve done a lot of stupid things in my life.

Many of those things have resulted in lessons learned, temporary embarrassments, or the occasional broken bones.

And a lot of bones I’ve broken.

Some of them were out of my control, some of them were the sum of a few dumb ideas added together.

The thing is — I don’t remember being in this much pain. It’s been three weeks since my motorcycle accident and I feel about the same as the day after it happened. Usually, I’m well into the healing process and I’m not really all that hindered from an injury within a week or so afterward.

I feel crippled.

It’s possible that a lot of this could be attitude-related. I’m trying to keep my chin up, but I just don’t know when this is going to make that obvious turn around the corner to rehabilitation. That, and I am used to running at the church building. No…I really mean running. I work by myself fairly often. Those of us who are on staff full time have different schedules that do intersect throughout the week, but there are a couple of days where we pretty much have the church building to ourselves. In these times…I run. I run in the hallways and up the stairs. I sprint through the sanctuary and through our courtyard area.

I’m having trouble imagining myself running again.

Now look — I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer in this post. Just thinking through my fingertips.

Looking back to 21 days ago when my accident occurred — I can see a few interesting things now that I wasn’t really thinking about then. Some are kind of funny…and some are kind of strange.

* Although the man who hit me didn’t help out, I saw a beautiful picture of community and conscience displayed when I was in the accident. Many people from the neighborhood rushed to my assistance and I really don’t know what I would have done if they hadn’t been there.

* The accident happened on North Bend Rd. — Just about 1 mile away from where I had another serious accident where I was nearly impaled by 40 feet of fence post a few years back.

* The ambulance ride had to be some sort of prank. It was like a Naked Gun movie. My foot and Knee were the main things injured and that’s exactly what it seemed everyone was out to attack. As they put me on the stretcher and slid me into the ambulance, they hit my foot with door. Then I wasn’t strapped in all the way and I almost fell completely off of whatever I was balancing on as we went around the first corner. People kept checking to see if my head and neck were okay every time they slammed into my foot with something and I yelped in pain. As the hospital received me from the ambulance, the man carrying the front of the stretcher had a duffel bag of some sort draped over his shoulder that repeated smacked into my foot as it swayed back and fourth with his walking. I was screaming, and I finally started kicking him in the back with my good leg to ask him to please stop hitting my foot. He also asked if my head and neck were okay.

* It turns out my leg is broken too. Originally, when the ambulance took me to the emergency room, they told me that my foot was broken. Okay – but why does my knee hurt so bad? An MRI at an orthopedic office showed that my Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) and Meniscus were both torn in the accident…”and I don’t know how they missed this, but your leg is broken pretty badly.” The top of my Tibia ( shin bone ) has a large fracture. Well poop.

* There are 3 crushed bones in my foot. The immediate thought was to put some sort of metal rods in my foot, but my doctor thought the surgery would be too dangerous over the long haul since I’m still young. Right now, we’re seeing how the foot heals without surgery with the plan of a less invasive surgery further down the road to prevent Arthritis. Sounds awesome.

* I’m completely terrible at laying on the couch and not doing stuff. Horrible at it. Allowing people to do stuff for me that I’m used to doing for them is…difficult. It’s interesting though…since I recently spoke at church about the relationship between work and rest.

* I’m just rambling at this point…time for a cute kid picture.

Ava started her Tap / Ballet class yesterday and she was super excited about it. So were we.

< / whiny post >

All heroes are afflicted.

Joy without the knowledge or presence of suffering would cease to be joyful. Light cannot be seen without darkness. Heroes, or “the good guys” all have something in their lives that causes them to strive for their heroic acts. If we think of Batman in this sense, we can look back into his past and remember that his parents were killed when he was just a boy. This horrific event planted a deep seed of justice in the young Bruce Wayne and also gave him an authentic hatred for crime in general. His courage, outstanding achievements, and noble character were all birthed out of affliction. Pain and suffering throughout his childhood created Batman…a solution, or personification of justice.

He remains afflicted because no matter what the motives, no matter how good he is, no matter the number of criminals taken off the streets, he is still portrayed as a bad man to many in the public eye. Even if you’re killing bad guys…you’re still killing. To quote Batman from the 2008 film, The Dark Night;

“You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

Bruce Wayne, Batman – afflicted by circumstances.

Wolverine, also known as Logan…which happens to be my little boy Finn’s middle name.

It’s hard to see past the affliction present in the life of Wolverine. He was born with the ability to heal at uncanny speeds, which also slows down his aging process. Match that with another human mutation – razor sharp claws that protrude from in-between his knuckles, and you can see how the government might want to turn a freak like this into a weapon. Logan is afflicted by the longing and desire to just be a normal guy, but he knows that he’s genetically wired for something far more aggressive. Read the comics and a catch-phrase bubbles to the top of who Wolverine really is;

“I’m the best there is at what I do, but what I do best isn’t very nice.”

Logan, Wolverine – afflicted by design.

Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider and suddenly develops super-human strength, speed, and agility…not to mention a spider sense that can warn him — not unlike when I try to stomp the Brown Recluse I see crawling across the carpet. Spiderman is afflicted not only with superhero issues, but also the fact that he’s a teenager struggling through feelings of inadequacy, loneliness, and being obsessed with himself. Already an orphan being raised by his Aunt and Uncle, Peter Parker gets a heavy dose of reality when his carelessness leads to the death of his Uncle Ben. How fitting, that the very same uncle tagged the famous line;

“with great power there must also come great responsibility”.

Peter Parker, Spiderman – afflicted by irresponsibility.

Superman, Ironman, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America — the list goes on and on and the afflictions follow right behind. But once you reach the end of the pages, or the credits roll…the hero has saved the day. They’ve got problems, and so do I. Sometimes I can get wrapped up with all the crap that I’ve got going on in my life and I can forget the battle that I’m fighting. Each of these characters come out victorious because, although they’re afflicted, they’re also reminded of the battle they’re in. They fight because they’ve identified that there is something worth fighting for.

Many of us walk around thinking that all we see in front of us is all there really is to the story. I’m glad Jesus didn’t do things that way. Jesus Himself was afflicted with the knowledge of what He would have to endure to “save the day”. He remembered that there was a very real battle going on all around him and He didn’t ignore it. Jesus faced that battle head on realizing full well that He was going to be killed in the process…but He found that fight worthwhile.

Because He was fighting for us. We were worthwhile. We were worth dying for.

I’m afflicted.

I’ve got stuff just like you do, and if you think you don’t…ask someone else what your stuff is. They’ve probably been wanting to tell you.

And so we fight.

1 Timothy 6:12-16
12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

Don’t ignore the fight. Press into it.