Every year Deb and I go berry picking near Downieville with some friends. This year the berries were not as plentiful, but we had a great time with the two families we go with. We were just about done for the day and I headed back toward the river with my bucket of berries and I stepped on a boulder that was imbedded in the bank near the river. Turns out the river had washed the dirt out from under the rock and when I stepped on the boulder, there it goes. I tumbled and ended up in the river with the rock. Amazingly I didn't loose any berries, but in my gynmastics I did something to my shoulder. The next day the xray said that I didn't break anything, and now a week later I am able to move the arm better. I have a feeling it will not be back to normal for a while and I am hoping for the best long term. Brad Campbell says that I shouldn't tell anyone that I hurt it picking berries...maybe explain that I hurt my shoulder riding a bull.
I am reminded that life can change quickly. One minute things are going along as normal and then next minute things change. One minute I was picking berries and the next minute I was sitting in the river unable to move my arm. Finding joy in the middle of change is a conscious choice. I don't always do so good at keeping my inner joy alive inspite of how things are going. A couple of weeks ago as I was worried about some other things and needed to choose joy. During the day I needed to choose joy a number of times. The Lord was faithful all day in the middle of my choices tso hat my day was filled with joy, but it did not come naturally that day.
Next time I am picking berries..er I mean...bull riding I will have to be more careful. I will also have to be careful every day to choose joy.
