Kaitlin's "debut" {A post written by Kait}

I cannot possibly start this post with anything other than the biggest thank you I can summon. Each and every one of you has blessed me and my family immensely and I am grateful for your continued support and encouragement.

As my "debut" back into the community, I wanted to share with you a few details of my life at Craig, as well as what The Lord is teaching me through each trial, change, and victory I face.

My life here is full of transfers, walks, weight lifting, aerobics, showers, classes, dressing, balance drills and more. Although many of these things seem simple and trivial, the most important thing to remember is that everything I do is powered by only my upper body.

From the armpits down, all I can feel is a heavy weight. This weight is carried by each push with my arms up a steep hill. I drag it behind me as I transfer back onto my bed from my chair and painstakingly lift each leg onto the mattress. I feel it when I want to turn over at night, but don't have the power to do so. Although this weight that I carry poses challenges each day, The Lord has already begun to use it to give me a greater understanding of the gospel and his grace, and I am confident that this is only the beginning of His work.

When you think about it, my spinal cord injury has served to create an interesting metaphor for the gospel and God's grace. My lower body has fully functioning muscles, tendons, organs, and bones; yet while it is set up to work and move the way it was intended to, it instead proves to be a useless pile of tissue that fumbles aimlessly at any attempt to work properly. And why? Because it lacks connection. Just as before Jesus, we lacked connection to God, so my lower body now lacks a connection to my brain. The result of a disconnect is the loss of all purpose and function...and the solution is Jesus.

What a reminder to carry each day in the weight of my lower body. I feel its worthlessness. I feel its dysfunction. I feel its stubborn resistance. Jesus chose to come and save THAT. While we were dead in worthless dysfunction and stubborn resistance, He came to give us a connection. He wants to know us and be near us badly enough that he sacrificed himself for that "useless pile of tissue" that I carry daily. Now when I transfer or wheel up a hill, it's easier to see GRACE above struggle or pain; and I am daily blessed by this powerful reminder.

Ultimately we are assured in scripture that our flesh receives life through none other than the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:11 tells us that, "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who lives in you." My body (no matter what shape it is in) has been given LIFE through the spirit. What a glorious gift!

Thanks for taking the time to glance a little further into my life since the accident. Please know that you all continue to serve as a blessing of encouragement from Jesus that inspires me to live each day in a way that is glorifying to Him. I am looking forward to writing more updates in the future, but until then, I am grateful for your continued prayers for strength, determination, and growth as I complete my therapies here at Craig.

All my love,
Kaitlin