‘I think you need a week away. I can organise some help while you’re gone.’
My darling husband Tim made that proposition to me in May. I’d been feeling a bit weighed down by a few things, and really felt like I could use a holiday. However, I couldn’t see that happening for awhile. Tim has a disability that affects his mobility and I help him out with a few things. I also have an elderly mother in aged care and I’m usually the only one who can run her errands and take her to appointments. How could I get away?
I’d shot up a couple of prayers to ask God for a holiday, but it wasn’t something I was earnestly praying for. It was more like a hope for some time in the future. I didn’t say anything to Tim about it, but he could obviously see I needed some time out. God’s provision, through Tim’s unexpected offer, blew me away. What a blessing!
Soon after, I jetted off to an island paradise for a week. Well more correctly, I drove for two and a half hours and took a tiny car ferry to Coochiemudlo Island in Moreton Bay, just two kilometres from shore. It’s a small island, with a relaxed atmosphere and lots of natural beauty. Just what I needed.
My accommodation was in a lovely quiet location and I managed to brave the freezing cold pool three times. The resident curlews enjoyed watching me battle the Kreepy Krauly pool cleaner while I tried to do laps (photo below left). I was blessed with beautiful weather and went on many scenic walks along the beach, through the melaleuca forest and along bushland paths.
I love getting out in nature, but I’ve had a few back, hip and knee problems that have made walking more difficult over the last couple of years. I was feeling so good on the island, that I resolved to get out in nature more when I got home. It’s a great stress reliever and I knew my dog would love it if I took her to a few interesting places to walk rather than just trotting round the block.
But Then ...
Just one week after my holiday, I managed to do a slip and slide as I was getting out of the shower. My left leg whizzed out at an awkward angle and I ended up on the floor. After a couple of minutes, I managed to get up with difficulty and take a few tentative steps, so I knew I hadn’t broken a weight-bearing bone. But my knee and foot were in pain and I could hardly walk. So much for my plan to spend more time in nature!
I had my accident at about 1.00 pm on a Saturday, just after all of the usual medical services and equipment providers had closed. I didn’t think it was bad enough to go to the emergency department, so I decided to wait until Monday.
I also had a more immediate problem. I’d bought a new memory foam mattress topper the day before and it was airing in the spare room. I’d stripped the bed in readiness, washed the sheets and blankets, and had them hanging outside on the line. In my injured condition, there was no way I could take the linen off the line, wrestle the heavy mattress topper into the bedroom and make up the bed.
And that's when the blessings rolled in ...
- I rang my home group leaders from church and they were at our house within thirty minutes. They took the washing off the line, wrangled the mattress and made up the bed. They even made sure our dog Penny had a game before they left.
- On the Monday, I was able to get an appointment with a physiotherapist at short notice and an appointment with my GP who is usually booked up a week in advance. I was able to rent a wheelie walker and get X-rays on the same day. I was also fortunate that I’d only hurt my left leg, not my right, so I was still able to drive myself to all of these things.
- We usually meet at another friend’s house for home group, but the group was able to shift it to our house that first week so that Tim and I could both attend. One of our friends returned my library books for me, our home group leaders blessed us with a meal, and we’ve been able to order extra meals and most of our groceries online.
- Several friends walked Penny in the first two weeks when I was having trouble getting around.
- My husband uses a wheelie walker all the time, so my little stint with a walker has given me a bit more insight into what Tim goes through on a daily basis. It’s hard to do anything quickly when you don’t have full range of movement in your knee, and there are some things you can’t do at all.
- I was forced to slow down and not rush all over the place doing errands. As a result, I’ve managed to get a lot more writing done, and God’s been teaching me lessons that I need to apply to my own life and my latest manuscript.
- An MRI eventually showed that I’d broken a small bone in the back of my knee and I had probably aggravated a previous meniscus tear. I also had mild to moderate osteo-artritis, but it could have been much worse. I didn’t need surgery or a cast. The bone will heal and I should be able to regain flexibility in my knee through exercise and physio. Four weeks on, it’s already much better. Most of the time, I don’t need the wheelie walker, but still have it on standby if I need to go over an uneven surface. I could have easily broken my leg and I really felt God’s protection in spite of the fall.
The Takeaway
It’s easy to think of blessings when everything is going well, but God’s blessings aren’t confined to the good times.
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23, NIV)
I may not have ventured out into nature much since my holiday, but it will come. In the meantime, I can still praise Him for all He has done.
Can you think a time when blessings came through difficult cirumstances? I’d love to hear your examples.
Synchroblog Links
This post is part of a synchroblog I’m doing with some of my friends on the topic of God’s blessings. You can read some of the others at the following links. (N.B. More will be added as they become available.)
Susan Barnes – A Good God Who Wants to Bless Us
Steph Penny – Lingering With A Lime Tart
Virginie Wright – The Best Blessing of All – The Cross
15 Responses
Good blog post, thanks Nola. Yours are always interesting. Sorry re your knee but I totally empathise re your injury – have had more or less similar but I’m now minus walker and walking well (an elasticised bandage helps a lot at times). Yes, many people are kind when one is visibly in need. Praying you get better soon.
Fancy Coochiemudlo! Mum and I went over there and walked all around the island (as much as is accessible) and swam with caution re sharks. Had a lovely day – my last good day with Mum before her decline into Alzheimer’s. I loved Coochie. Must think about a holiday there one day myself.
Thanks for that, Jeanette. Sorry to hear about your injury too and I hope you recover quickly. I’m a lot better now and can mostly walk without the wheelie walker. Just being cautious until the bone has properly healed.
I lived in Brisbane for the first 27 years of my life, but had never been to Coochie, not even for a day trip. It’s good that you have that lovely memory of your Mum. It’s still a great place if you want to get away from it all. I found it nice and peaceful, which is just what I wanted. And although the population is about 850, a lot of the island is still forest and the beach is largely undeveloped, so that was good. I hope you can get back there for a holiday. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I’ve also been to Coochiemudlo Island! When we lived near Ipswich about 30 years ago, we holidayed there for a few days with our children during one of the school holidays. I think our children found it a bit dull, but I loved the peace and quiet!
Thanks for sharing the many ways God found to bless you during a difficult time.
Hi Susan – I can understand why your children might have found Coochie a bit dull. It’s not the place to go if you like lots of things to do, but it’s great for getting away from it all. As this is the first time I’ve been, I can’t say what it was like 30 years ago. There is a population of 850 people now, so I think it would be more built up than when you were there. But they’ve still kept a lot of the island natural. They’ve kept all the shoreline as public land, so it looks like there’s not much there as you approach. They’ve also kept a chunk of the melaleuca forest and have made some nice walks. Not the most exciting place for kids, but I liked the laid-back style. And yes, it’s good to see God’s blessings in difficult times as well as the good. Thanks for sharing.
As always Nola you always amaze me. I am very sorry you hurt your knee but great that no surgery is needed
That island ( which I have never heard of) sounds lovely. Just what you needed – peace and quiet. Nature. I can only imagine the running around you do for both your husband and mum. It’s a lot. Nice to have time for you- God’s blessings always work out
Hi JoAnn – Thanks for that. Although I lived in Brisbane for the first 27 years of my life, I’ve only ever been to Stradbroke Island and Bribie. I still haven’t been to Moreton or the other smaller islands. A few of my friends have moved to the smaller Moreton Bay Islands in recent years – you might remember that Jill from work lived on Lamb Island at one stage. I think a lot of people are enjoying the laid-back island lifestyle so close to Brisbane. If you’re down in Brisbane sometime, Coochie is worth a day trip. Only 50c and 8 mins away on the passenger ferry, though the car ferry’s a lot dearer. And yes, God’s blessings always work out. They’re always there if we keep an eye out for them. Thanks for commenting.
Hi Nola, hooray for your recent adventure in the island—and boo to your recent adventure in the shower! You look great riding your wheelie walker btw. 🙂 Seriously though, it’s good to hear the fracture will heal with the right mixture of rest and movement. And what an outpouring of blessings from friends and loved ones! Friendship is probably one of the greatest blessings life can offer. I’m glad you have so many people around you, ready to drop everything and help when you need it most.
Thanks, Steph. Yes, those friends were certainly a blessing. Sometimes we feel like we have to soldier on and don’t want to impose, but I couldn’t possibly have gotten the sheets and blankets off the line, wrangled the new mattress and made up the bed. So it was lovely that those friends were able to come straight round. It must be hard for you to have moved interstate, but I’m also glad you know many from the Christian writers circle in Adelaide. Here’s to the growth of some fantastic connections. Thanks for commenting.
Sorry to hear about these experiences, Nola. Good you had time on Coochiemudlo. We often visited there as I grew up in Wynnum, actually overlooking Moreton Bay (spoilt). When we were younger we often went to Amity Point on Stradbroke, day visits and camps, Dunwich and Point Lookout. I always wanted to get to Moreton Island as our home looked over to it, but had not been there until a couple of years ago when my daughter took us over there as a surprise. We often walked over to King Island from Wellington Point (that is for Jeanette Grant-Thomson). Our home actually had a 180 degree view over that part of Moreton Bay. When I was little our Dad had a house on Bribie Island, too, so we went there by boat as it was before the bridge was built. Then there was no electricity on the island so at night we went to bed with a candle stick. I felt like ‘Wee Willie Winkie’. Anyhow it was great to hear of your visit and what you had to share about Tim and your Mum and things at home. I am actually in Toowoomba today with my son-in-law so you have been in my thoughts. Love and God bless, Heather
Hi Heather – Thanks for sharing your experiences. It sounds like you had an adventurous childhood. I’ve been to Straddie a couple of times for holidays and once on a day trip; and I’ve been to Bribie a few times. But I’d never been to any of the other Moreton Bay islands, even though I lived in Brisbane for the first 27 years of my life. I was amazed last time I went to Caloundra and discovered that you can now walk across a sandbar to the northern tip of Bribie due to the weather event they had a couple of years ago. You can’t sail right round the island now. I’d love to go to Moreton and was thinking of it for this last trip, but then thought it would be better to do that with a friend. The whole trip came about at very short notice, so I just wanted to keep it simple. I hope to tick off all the main Moreton Bay islands in the next few years. It’s amazing what we have right on our doorstep. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Nola,
Thank you for sharing how God is ever present in all our struggles and sends help whenever we need it, like time out to recover in His beautiful creation, practical help from our brothers and sisters, amazing open doors when we think they can’t open.
Our God is so faithful and loves us so much. Thanks for sharing.
Virginia
Thanks Virginia. It was certainly an interesting few weeks, but God is faithful and there were lots of things to be thankful for. Thanks for stopping by.
I loved that reminder that God’s blessings can be found in the hard times! Thank you.
Thanks Dienece. I need to remind myself of it too sometimes. But if we look for them, there are always many more things to be thankful for. Thanks for stopping by.