Feeling Weak Can Make Us Strong
Last April my husband had to have back surgery. It was something he had been putting off for years, but the time had come, after trying everything else, where he had no other option but to allow a surgeon to repair the damaged vertebrae in his back.
I thought I was a strong woman. I was able to hold our family together during his many deployments while he served our country for 20 years.
I learned to MacGyver washers and dryers, deal with broken down cars and raise our four children while he sailed the seven seas.
But nothing could prepare me for the intense and emotional stress I lived through while he was in the hospital and then when he was at home recovering.
The doctors had to do two separate surgeries. One day through the stomach to repair broken bones and then the next day a second surgery to insert the cage, screws, and rods in his back.
Living at the hospital for a week, was exhausting, but nothing compared to what we would go through once he came home.
I was the caregiver.
Which meant every night when he woke to go to the bathroom, I would have to get up, help him out of bed, walk him to the bathroom, help him sit down, and then reverse it all when he was ready to go back to sleep.
It was like having a newborn in the house again, as we got up every two hours, for two weeks straight.
I had to do everything…..EVERYTHING!
My quads and arms got stronger, as I became his arms and legs when he got up and down.
But I felt emotionally I was only getting weaker.
Sometimes when we go through difficult times, we feel as if we don’t have the strength to continue. But the reality is, every morning we walk up, step out at greet the new day, we have proven we are strong than we think.
It takes strength to put one foot in front of the other, but in doing so, we are building both our physical and emotional muscles.
Yes, they may be sore, they may feel exhausted, but with each movement, we are stretching and causing ourselves to grow.
The next time you feel weak, try standing up and taking a step.
And then take another.
With each step you take you are making progress and taking control of what is trying to keep you down.
And don’t worry when you feel exhausted.
Exhaustion is confirmation that you are getting stronger and gaining ground.
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