40 Minutes v. A Lifetime

It is January and for some of us this means BASKETBALL!! I love basketball! I love watching it and I LOVE playing it. Unfortunately, due to injury, I am no longer allowed to play. We have a co-ed team at church and I went and watched our first game last night. It was exciting and nerve-wracking. Does no one remember how to throw a lay-up anymore? Bricks were thrown right and left. But in the end we won. The ball left the hands, the buzzer sounded, and then swoosh, 2 points! It was bee-you-tee-ful! As we were walking out to the parking lot, someone asked me if I would be ready to play mid-season. Oh, how I wanted to say YES! But I had to say no because I am not allowed to play contact sports anymore. :-(

You see, in 2004, I stress-fractured a vertebra in my back. It was one of the saddest days in my life. No more would I be allowed to run when I wanted to or take a charge, get the foul points and make my free throw shots. My spine can't absorb the jarring shock of running up and down a basketball court. And if I were to get knocked over and fall......not good! I have already spent 4 months of my life on bed rest because of this injury, I am not spending anymore! In the past year, I have finally been able to do more than physical therapy exercises and walking. In a few months, I will be able to go hiking for long distances again. Oh, the pleasure and joy to be found in strapping on a backpack and going somewhere powered by one's feet! In about a year, I will, hopefully, be allowed to start climbing again.

So, Someone, I would dearly love to play basketball with you and the boys. But I would rather have that lifetime of hiking and climbing to look forward to than give in and play 40 minutes of basketball that could destroy my future dreams. I will cheer, yell, and coach from the sidelines. I will be supportive and clap when the ball goes through the hoop. I will yell at the ref when he makes bad calls. I will yell at you when you pass the ball to the other team. (Oops!) But I will not play, even though a huge part of me longs to be on the court, passing the ball and shooting hoops. Oh, how I would dearly love to play....