Ambushed by a Ham

This is a silly little story about a frozen ham. It happened about a month ago, when I went to the basement to get some chicken out of the freezer for supper. I took the key from its hiding place and unlocked the freezer, as I always do; our aging freezer has to be kept locked so it doesn't open mysteriously, all by itself, and thaw all of the food inside. Trust me, I speak from experience.

Anyway, I unlocked the freezer and opened the door, ready to grab a package of chicken, when this blankety-blank ham decided to ambush me. Before I could stop it, the ham rolled out, off its shelf, landing squarely on my left big toe.

I was surprised. But, most of all, I was in pain. I gritted my teeth, picked up the ham, and placed it firmly on the shelf in the back of the freezer, making sure that it wouldn't be able to roll out again. Then, I located the chicken I had come for, closed and locked the freezer, and hobbled up the stairs to the kitchen, muttering, "Ow, ow, OW!" and silently cursing the person--maybe me, but maybe not--who dislodged the ham the last time the freezer was open.

After leaving the chicken in the kitchen to thaw, I grabbed an ice pack from the kitchen freezer compartment, and made my way to the bathroom, where I sat down on the closed toilet and gingerly peeled off my sock.

Thankfully, there wasn't any blood, but it wasn't pretty. Actually, on second thought, I might be mistaken about that, because my toe was already beginning to turn the beautiful shade of purple that my granddaughters both love so much.

I have plenty of experience with broken bones in my left foot, which seems to be accident prone. It didn't look broken this time, and I could bend it carefully without any additional shooting pain, so I was pretty sure that it was only bruised. I applied the ice pack off and on for awhile, popped a couple of ibuprofen, then put my sock back on so I could limp back to the kitchen. Injured or not, I still had to get some supper on the table.

You wouldn't think that such an insignificant injury, caused by a ham, of all things, would cause so much trouble. It was at least a week before I could comfortably wear a shoe. After four weeks, I'm just now able to walk up and down the stairs without much pain. My toe has finally regained its normal color, but it will be several months before I lose that black toenail, erasing all memory of the injury for good, or at least, I hope so.

It's funny how life throws us curve balls when we least expect it. Even little things, like a sore toe, can make us change our plans in a big way, and more notable events, like the loss of a job or the death of a family member, can change our lives forever. It isn't easy to find joy in our weakness, but it becomes so necessary, when we are feeling overwhelmed by life's big and little struggles, to turn to God for the strength we need each day. Then we can say, with the Apostle Paul:

But (the Lord) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  

2 Corinthians 12: 9-10