Limping Out of 2008

Today was the second day in a row that someone asked me why I was walking with a limp. It seems that my usual uneven stride is a bit more pronounced because I fell marvelously on some ice just four days ago. The fall left a bruise on my hip that is a breathtaking piece of purple artwork. I wish I could show it off, but it might be a strike against my virtue to whip off my pants for any old Joe.

Something that makes this bruise so peculiar is that it is sharing skin with a scar. When I was just a little baby Bobbi Jae I had surgery to correct a congenital condition called hip dysplacia. The orthopedic surgeon's work of temporarily placing a pin in the troubled hip left me with a scar that has stretched as I grew and walk that is a bit out of step.

This year, 2008, has left me limping a bit as well. There has been loss, there have been mistakes, there has been failure. I have had some unexpected falls.

But there has been life, and that life has placed its warm hand on my bruised scars. I have known healing, I have had adventure, I have worked to take care of myself, I have risked, I have welcomed, I have asked questions, I have stood for justice, and I have eaten well. I have begun to roll around in the love of God again and I wonder if, in this new year, that love might take my breath away.