His faithfulness endures...

As many of you may/may not know, May 21st marked the 3rd year anniversary of my back surgery. Seems like an odd thing to remember, but believe me...going through a traumatic experience like back surgery and coming out of it pain free was a life changing experience for me. Wait...let me back up, it wasn't exactly pain free. I suffered through the recovery process for almost a full 6 months before feeling like myself again. And as much as I would like to banish those memories from my mind, they linger...

Especially on days like today. Several months ago I started experiencing some pain again. Not actually from my back, but from these massive screws that they placed in my spine to stabilize everything in order for the fusion to take place. I jokingly began telling people that my "hardware hurt" when they would notice me wincing. Ironically, my self-prognosis was right on target. I went back to the Texas Back Institute for the first time in over 2 years yesterday morning. Very deja vu and not exactly enjoyable.

I don't know what I expected. Perhaps the doctor would tell me I needed to slow down, stop playing volleyball, work out more to strengthen my core. Nothing in me was prepared for him to say...SURGERY! Evidently having "hardware pain" is not uncommon. After surgery, a lot of patients will opt to have the hardware removed once the bone has fused solid. WHAT? Did they momentarily forget the pain, the awful recovery time, and lest we all forget...THE . EVIL . BACK . BRACE!!!!!!

I'm choosing to be grateful right now that the pain is manageable. I'm trusting in God's faithfulness, knowing fully that He will continue to take care of me as He always has. Although I do not know what the future holds, I know that God holds my future in His hands. Even when I'm incredibly frustrated, uncertain, and just a little bit mad. :)