Courage On Ice

Nobody Cares;

“Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest”

Joshua, ch. I, V. 5

Once in a while I just have to write a letter to God. A letter where I can say what I want, and it really doesn’t matter…it’s also great therapy, as all the scientific surveys will assure you. Feel free to join in.

Dear God.

I want to first thank you for the birds you sent me today. You know that huge bush that I cannot afford to cut down, and my husband is too sick to? You know--the one right outside my computer room window? It’s become a favorite gathering place for all the little chippies, and cardinals to gather and just be the pretty little dears that they are---and they cannot see me, sitting only a few feet away. They chip and chirp and gather like little bunnies, warm and happy to sit and just be their adorable little selves. They give me great comfort, my little darlings. I could watch them sing and preen for hours.

If this keeps up, I might never cut that bush down.

Now I can put on my list of vices, bird voyeur. Good grief.

It was warm here today; the autumn leaves are just breathtaking. The yellows are coming out; the burning bushes are all in bloom. Bright red is everywhere, just punching in your eyelids. Forget the cell phones, watch out for the burning bush!

I saw the most endearing tree in the middle of the park today; it was light green at the top and throughout, and you threw multi-colored yellows in like miscreant dashes of mustard. The whole tree was soft, as if engulfed in light feathers…and then, bright, cranberry reds on the sides. What can you do with such beauty other than stare? None of the other trees could even compete with it. From afar, it was so beautiful it almost didn’t look real. I had to blink…

And then, another thank you is due…I know you get a lot of thanks, but how about one more? You know, that lesson you gave me, that one I so needed.

That lesson in courage?

My husband and I went to the local mall, (as you know) which was empty of all but a few shoppers, and just before we left, there he was---a hero, on the ice…on the ice rink.

But wait…I get ahead of myself. (Good thing you invented time warps.)

We were sitting on the side of the ice rink, looking through the glass…having a last minute pretzel before we left, and laughing at a man who had no doubt never been on a pair of skates before. He was taking a lesson, but was too scared to fall down, so therefore, he pretty much stayed in one place. Nevertheless, having no grace on skates myself, I know the feeling.

“Will I break a bone? How many falls can my butt take before it becomes too bruised? Is anybody watching? What about my hands! I won’t be able to play piano! Jeez.”

I wanted to yell at him, “Go ahead, take a chance!” But I think even his teacher was getting frustrated by the way he was waving his arms around at the guy.

Then it happened…pretty quickly.

I saw the wife first. She walked passed us, almost as if she was embarrassed to be carrying the contraption, she had in her arms.

“What’s she carrying? It looks like a real funny baby carriage, but it has paddles…weird.” I said.

But then, we looked into the rink, and there was a crippled man waiting in a wheelchair right outside the ice. The woman was probably his wife by the worried look on her face. In my heart, there was no doubt he was probably injured in the war, in Afghanistan or Iraq, by a roadside mine.

She put down the strange looking apparatus, and then man got in it all by himself somehow. Then, he literally scooted himself on floor, onto the rug, and then onto the ice…where he became…a man again.

He used two short paddles, (which looked homemade) and pushed himself to the other end of the ice with such upper strength that even I felt the freedom and strength in his arms, and I imagined what it must be like to be able to go fast again. As he soured from one end of the ice to the other, as quickly as any professional hockey player, my emotions soured with him.

Surely he was no stranger to the ice. And by his attack on the ice, no doubt, he was no stranger to the hardships of battle.

Yeah--- I got teary eyed. I wanted to go and tell the wife what an inspiration he was, and how I enjoyed watching him twist and turn with such grace, but…she had that look that one gets on your face, when life hits you with such surprise.

A look of exhaustion, worry, and “Why him? Why me?”

WHY?

The burden that has now been placed on her is unimaginable. Besides, my husband would have been embarrassed if I had done said something, so I didn't.
But the urge was strong because, I’ve been where she is before. The road ahead of her will be greater than his, in many ways. Watching him soar on the ice, you could tell that this man still had his spirit. Somewhere he had gotten support. But she was still…overwhelmed with the shock.

So God, I pray you will help these two American hero’s. Give her some cheer…and soon, in whatever way you can. Keep him strong for her.

And help me too God. The changes that they have been planning for so very long are all coming so fast, it’s hard to have an emotional defense, which is exactly what they want.

I feel so many days, just like that woman, and ask over and over the question of-- why? Why do we fight to save America, when our leaders destroy it?

You showed me a man standing tall today, and he didn’t even have any legs.

Courage…was the lesson…and may God help us all to have more of it.