blessings on wheels

I had the opportunity this past weekend to work with some of the most amazing athlete's I have ever met. I was asked to help cover the National Wheelchair Basketball Association National Basketball Tournament. There were over 100 teams, ranging from junior varsity teams to elite level teams. I am in love with this sport!! These athletes are tough. They flip over, strapped in their chairs, and just pop themselves right back up. If you ever thought that wheel chairs were easy, try playing basketball in one, pushing yourself all over the court insanely fast for two 20 minute halves. Not to mention having the opposing team ram their chairs into you.

These athletes were not only phenomenal, but play with such heart. They are fighters and survivors. I met one athlete from Oklahoma City, who at age 19 has had 21 separate surgeries, including a fractured patella, fractured ribs, torn ACL and many other physical conditions. I still had to send him to the hospital to get an x-ray to make sure he didn't re-fracture his ribs. But before he left he asked if I could just tape him up and let him play. He didn't want to let his team down.

After being in a gym full of wheel chairs and prosthetic limbs, I am much more aware of how fortunate I am to have all my appendages. How fortunate I am to have full function of my body. But these athletes pointed out one very important thing to me. Limitations are only limitations if you allow them to change the way you live. Otherwise, they are simply just challenges that you have to work a little harder, dig in and push.

Not only did I fall in love with wheelchair basketball, I was blessed beyond belief.

At the same time, I was attending a regional athletic training conference. I am kind of a nerd. I love conferences and listening to really smart people throw out medical terms and huge academic words really fast. More than anything, I am reminded how much I love my career. I have been blessed with a passion for treating athletes. And I will continue to become better. I will continue to learn. I am not okay with being a mediocre athletic trainer.

But I was also reminded how fragile life is. In the blink of an eye, one single event can shatter people's lives. One single event, sends me back down memory lane, remembering the small and subtle moments with a certain person. The small chit chat while I taped his ankle. He always had a smile. I remember that. It was an honor and blessing to know you Mark. The world is a little less beautiful now that you are no longer in it. May you rest in peace with your Heavenly Father.

Life is short and life is fast.

Slow down.

Appreciate the beauty.

Find a sense of awe in the small, ordinary moments.

Love God passionately and Love others radically.