It can happen to anybody.....

It's been almost 20 months since I've wrote anything here. I guess it took 2 broken bones, a plate and 8 screws to get me to blog about my faith. Well that and the latest faith column by Terry Pluto.

To bring everybody up to speed, here's what happened: Since October 22, I have been nursing a broken ankle I got while preparing to do some yard work for my in-laws. I was only supposed to be there for a couple of hours then I would go home and prepare for the Rittman band show that evening. I was to be the emcee. That was not to be. My announcing was to end a week early this year.

The month of October wasn't the greatest month. Started out by my being called into HR were I work. I was then told that my pay was being cut significantly. With my pay reduced that low, I felt like a first class loser. I know the Lord provides, but sometimes being knocked down like that will reduce the male ego to a pile of rubble. It has been a long hard struggle since I lost my last job 12/31/2009. But generosity and prayers of friends and family have helped me through many lean, dark days.

I would always say that I was under attack by the devil, but the fact remains that sometimes my own stupidity dictates my course in life. The Friday before my injury, I had discovered several overdraft charges in our checking account. At this point, I knew that the only thing I could do was pray, and I sometimes can be too hard on myself.  I think that I don't deserve God's provision when it's something  that's a product of my own neglect that gets me in a predicament. Well God does supply in His own time.

That Friday evening after I left work,  I went to Jeromesville, where the Rittman football team was playing Hillsdale. This particular evening, the field was very soggy, so the marching band gave a standing concert performance. After halftime, some of the band members called me aside and gave me a card signed by all the band. Inside the card was a check, a gift from the band boosters. The students then proceeded to tell me how much I meant to them, that my announcing gave them energy. And since I wasd a part of them, they wanted me to go and have a snack with them. I also let them know that I would make an effort to not ever miss any more marching performances. As the saying goes, famous last words...

The next day I went to work, was looking forward to going to and being part of the 21st annual Rittman Indians marching band review. Then came the accident. I was checking out the back yard at my in-laws house, while my father in law was finishing up the mowing in front. I was only intending on going back far enough to see how wet the back was when I saw some dead branches on the ground. I thought I would take them to the brush pile at the property line. As I approached the rear of the property, I slipped and fell, turning as I lost my footing. I felt a crunch that I assumed was my artificial knee. As I attempted to get on my feet, I saw that my left ankle was badly swollen. I knew then that the ankle was at least dislocated. I then screamed, but to no avail. I then took out my cell phone and called 9-1-1. As I have said repeatedly, this is one call I don't ever want to hear the recording of. But the local police and EMS, said that I was lucky to have had my phone in my pocket.

Anyway like I said at the top of this post, my announcing ended a week early this year and it wasn't by my plan. I have got to know a lot about my friends and family the past 2 weeks. My Facebook group was abuzz, wanting to know about everything that happened. And my favorite student musicians? They let me know that, as one of my other friends put it, they are as big as fans of mine as I am of them. I have some unfinished business that I intend to take care of during the Winter concert on December 12.

In his latest Faith and You column, Terry Pluto discusses why you shouldn't think that God is punishing you when bad things happen to you. And yes, I wondered why I was  being punished the past month or so. You can't help but feel that way at times. That's why we need one another. To support one another and to let us know that God is here to take care of us.

Click here to read Terry Pluto's Faith and You column from November 5, 2011.