So I was working out and all of a sudden it felt like someone hit the back of my left calf with a fastball. I stumbled and hopped for a few steps on my right leg. I then crumpled into a ball on the floor rolling around grabbing my left calf.

This was the scene in the middle of my kung fu class. It kind of stopped everybody in their tracks. It certainly stop me in my tracks. I had no idea what it happened. All I knew is that I could not walk as I once did. I could shuffle and kind of skitter putting most of my weight on my right leg and barely supporting myself as I had to take a step with my left leg.

I pulled a muscle or maybe kind of tour a muscle little bit and oh did that hurt. I iced it in class and then made my way down the hall to the front door. That little walk normally takes me less than a minute. Last night that same walk took more than five minutes. I had to stop at least twice down the hall so that I could stretch out my calf and keep going.

This is not what I had planned on. I just wanted to go to my kung fu class and have a good workout. But my body and God had a different opinion. I have discovered that when God and my body have differing opinions to mine my opinion usually comes in third. It certainly did last night. I’ve discovered that that is a good thing.

I’ve also discovered that pain is a very good thing. It’s not something any of us want. However it is something that gives us a sense of where our boundaries are. The pain in my leg kept me from truly hurting myself. It’s also funny how physical pain debilitating pain pain that makes you crumple onto the floor over arches any sense of propriety or embarrassment; you physically can’t go on. And that can be a very good thing.

All the blogs that I have written have been about seeing what we will call good in the midst of difficulty or tragedy. This one is seeing good in the midst of pain. So what is there in the midst of pain that I can see as inspiring? Before last night I’m not sure what I would answer. But I now know that pain is not something just to get through not something just to be thankful that you can endure, pain is something for which to be thankful. It allows my body to heal far faster then if my muscle had been truly ripped or detached. Thankfully, that did not happen.

I discovered that I have an ability to see myself as I’m doing something. I used to think that everybody has that ability. I guess to certain point they do however most people don’t pay attention to it. Anyway I was walking down the hall out of my kung fu class and I could notice myself walking differently. I was skittering slowly.

And as I saw myself I couldn’t help but laugh. I’m in shape, strong, confident, and yet I can’t walk faster than an 80-year-old. In fact many 80-year-olds can walk faster than I was walking. I saw the humor in what I was encountering. The laughter was actually helpful in healing. Now that doesn’t mean that my leg got all better because I laughed at myself. It does mean that stressing about an injury is of no use. It is of no help.

One of the inspirational things about this injury is how it helps me see what I normally take for granted. I take for granted that my body will work the way I wanted to. But that’s not always so. Often times I over stress my body and don’t even realize it. We are often not aware.

Pain helps us become aware. Awareness can help us to see humor in the midst of pain and humor can help us to lighten the load of what we think is important. I am not saying that I’m really really really glad that I injured my calf. However I am saying that I am glad of the way I can now see that injury. I’m also glad the way that I can use that injury to point others towards a healing direction.