For the past year I have had this crazy desire to want to wear high heels and get pedicures. Now I am not the mostly girly girl, however, I love wearing cute stilettos and high heels. I enjoy getting pedicures, not so much because of the color, but because of how relaxing they are to get.

But for the past year now, I have been unable to enjoy either. A year ago [on March 11th] I injured my right foot and ankle- tearing the ligament that runs from the inside of my foot up my calf. I love running, and I was finally released to start running again. I cannot get pedicures because they would basically be a waste of my money right now- my foot is still swollen and therefore looks stupid. I LOVE wearing high heels, but the pain is mostly unbearable any time I even have attempted at wearing them for an hour. I put myself through the brutal test of wearing heels at my sister’s wedding, but I regretted it the same day. It is not even about wearing high heels. Its about being able to wear any shoes period. For the most part, I have been limited to wearing sneakers and TOMS Shoes.

{Check out toms.com for more info}

My point is that for a year, in retrospect, I have been dealing with a challenge. It only affects me. Not you. However, you face your own challenges. For this past year I have had to make sacrifices, change some areas of my lifestyle, and be diligent with my recovery ( physical therapy and stretching). A year later and I am still dealing with my recovery, but if I had not been diligent with my part of the healing process, working my best in the ways I actually could, my foot would have actually gotten worse and probably needed surgery by now.

As an active individual and an athlete, I cannot ignore this injury nor can I pretend it doesn’t affect the rest of my life, including my faith. This is something I have had to deal with for a year; a circumstance that I have had to be patient with even if I hated it. It is a process and not immediate recovery. Often in our lives we see struggle, pain, frustration, whether physical, spiritual, personal, whatever else…and most times we want immediate results. However, most of the time, that never happens. We have to be patient with our circumstances and work the best of our ability in it. In spite of our situations we face, we must trust God to give us strength to get through it. In spite of our desires that are on hold or have even been taken away, God can and will get us through whatever we face. This injury has taught me so much about reliance on God. It is by his grace and strength that I have been able to deal with a constant pain in my foot. It is by his patience I have been able to deal with swelling in my foot where I have to wear shoes larger than my normal foot size.

It may seem dumb to compare my foot injury to my relationship with God, but it is what makes sense to me. It has been what makes me realize who God has been and will be in my life. Whatever you face, whatever your struggle, big or small, God is with you. For me, I wait patiently for my God relying on his strength and my healing, however slow it might be. But one day, eventually, I will be able to get a pedicure and wear my high heels again.