CROS-Fit #142 Now that you're healed, what's next?

We all pray for that miracle, that one miracle in out lives.

For the sake of illustration, let's take the oh so tender shoulder as an example.

So I've been praying for healing and for it to get better (It's really getting better, bit by bit, Praise God!)

But what I realized was that after I do get better, I'm really blessed to be surrounded by people who know injuries like that, whom know what you can or cannot do and how to get it stronger than it was before.

But for some people, it's really the opposite.

There're people whom pray for healing and when they get it, they jump straight in to lift heavy again, with no change in technique or mindset and what happens? Yeah, you can guess what happens....

We all pray for healing, and when we do get the healing, we go right back in to our lifestyle which led to that injury to begin with.

Say you've been having diabetes all this while and you somehow managed to overcome it, miraculously.

Then you go back to work and change not one bit in your lifestyle.

Then you contract diabetes again and curse God along the way.

Do you see the strange way we humans tend to treat our lives.

When we finally get our healing, what's next?
Are you gonna go back to work straight away, sit down in front of a desk and put your body in a bad position? Or are you going to get moving daily and get engaged in activities to prevent that injury or sickness?

I'm not trying to be a heretic here. But sometimes, I look at people whom raise their hands when theys ay they want healing in their bodies, I look at them and really wonder.

Do you really really want it?

If you get it, gosh you're gonna set yourself up for another injury coming back, then oh the cycle repeats.

Maybe that's what Jesus referred to when he said that "He could not do many miracles here due to their lack of Faith". (maybe something else, but hey, it's my interpretation of it)

Set up a plan for yourself.

Think, right now, when God does heal me, what am I going to do differently?

I got sick, I got injured for a reason. Something, somewhere, in my lifestyle went wayward.

It's as simple as that.

So think of a plan, think of a recovery plan for yourself.

Pushing it a little farther.

Maybe that's why God doesn't bless us with all the wishes we have in our prayer list.

Probably because the moment we're given it in front of our eyes.

We simply don't know what to do with it.

Blessings? Sure! Now that I've got it, erm.... Now what?

We all have to take that step back and be prepared for our blessings.

Prepare in Faith, prepare to succeed, set yourself up for that and not just to waste the blessings God has given you/

So students, God has given you your A's. What're you gonna do with that?

Working adults, you got your big break, that big promotion, what next? What're you gonna do with that?

Your response will dictate how far that blessing will go.

Your response will probably dictate the next blessing that is gonna come your way really soon.

Now that you're healed.

Now that you're blessed.

What's next?

CROSS-fit #141 Live NOW

There's always a big tendency for everyone to dream and dream big!

On the flip side, there's also a tendency for people to continually live in the past.

The former speaks of people living in the hopeful glories.

The latter speaks of people living in their previous victories.

However, don't do both.

I'm not denying that it isn't good to live by Faith, to believe in the things unseen.

But some people push that a little too far.

People begin to guide their lives based on how they were in the past.

Or they guide their lives based on how they want to be.

Upon rehab for my shoulder, I've been rather impatient.

I've regained quite a significant amount of range of motion and am able to load it just a little.

Just when I wanted to push it a little.

A friend reminded me, to live in the NOW.

Don't treat your shoulder like it's all healthy and good in the past.

Don't treat it like it's already recovered in the future.

Treat your shoulder as it is.

Take it in and face up to it. Tell yourself that right now, it is injured and you need to treat it differently.

Treat your life as it is.

No matter how wayward or successful it might be, take it in and deal with it.

It may not be in the best of positions but sometimes you just need to work with what you have.

Doing it any other way may just do more harm than good.

Imagine if I rushed my shoulder rehab, how bad it would've been.

Live your life in the NOW.

Not in the past or in the future.

Because when you do so, you lose sight of the things which need to be done NOW.

These things might just be the make or break for you.

CROSS-fit #140 Lift your hands

We very often, take for granted, the simple joys of life.
We really do, and it's quite sad to see that sometimes.
They say that you never know how much something means to you when you actually lose it.
Yeap, that's what happened to me.

We take for granted, the simple things and we even complain about doing them.
We whine and complain about doing thrusters (oh we hate those, don't we)
We're constantly contemplating whether we should miss the workout if it involves something we don't like.
But now after injuring my shoulder...
I am so envious of everyone who can do anything shoulder related.
I look at those who do pull ups, thrusters, toes to bars and I gaze with jealousy.
You don't know how much I wish I could just hop on and crank those reps away.
You have no idea what that means to me and how one would feel.

So it seems that what they say, about how you never know what treasure really is till you lose it...
Is really true.
I've taken for granted, my ability to use my shoulders and I've learnt to appreciate this God given gift.
Not just for my shoulders but even for my legs.

Not just in Crossfit, but even in church.
We so often, take for granted, the ability to raise our hands in worship.
We get lazy and instead of really raising our hands, we take the easy option and rest them on our laps.
They call it a sacrifice of praise for a reason.
It's supposed to be done, especially so, when it's the hardest.
I never knew what that mean till last weekend.
When lifting my hands felt so so so hard.
And the inability to do so crushed me just a little bit more than it normally did.
But there were moments where I was able to summon some flexibility and strength to raise them.
Those moments felt magical, those moments (no matter how many seconds they were), made my day.

So take it from me.
You may not be able to fully understand how I feel (Till you actually go through it)
but maybe this will allow you to understand.
That at every junction in life.
Take some time to smell the flowers and appreciate the small beauties around us.
That's how we become...
"More than conquerors".

CROSS-fit #139 Hello shoulder, it's good to meet you :)

Sometimes in life, you take a fall (Literally).

Some falls leave you with just scars and wounds.

But some, gosh, some leave you with a majorly dislocated shoulder.

Well, yes, that happened to me.

I've been through my fair share of injuries but this....

Most 'falls' result in a shoulder impingement,  sore back, sore wrist, slightly pained knees.

Nothing much, really, nothing that I can't deal with.

This on the other hand brought everything to a whole new level.

This 'fall' was the worst (best) that I've ever had.

It's brought me back down to reality, back down to understanding humility again.

That at the root of everything I do, I'm after all, still human.

The injury has hurt me tremendously, on the inside and out.

But at the heart of it all, there's probably more to gain.

I've learnt to appreciate things a whole lot more.

Right now, I'm limited in terms o mobility and that has greatly affected my lifestyle.

The fear of decrepitude (The loss of human function) has never been more real. 

I've learnt to appreciate the small things we all take for granted.

On the road to recovery, I've also learnt that small steps make a very big difference.

It takes effort, patience and a whole lot of humility to do the proper rehabilitative work.

It's a good time to know my body again.

It's a good time to fix up the many issues my body has had since I was 14.

It's a good time to work on my other weaknesses while taking my shoulder out of the equation.

It's also a good time to reflect on my training, abilities and character.

Some 'falls' may come and go.

but the very cliched saying of "It doesn't matter how hard you fall but how hard you stand back up" has never meant more.

The next few blog posts (Whilst I'm recovering) is dedicated to learning about my body, lifestyle and habits that we all take for granted.

Superheroes have their kryptonite. They do fall once in a while.

But really, what matters...

Is how much of a hero you can still be while climbing back up.