I started taekwondo one January several years back. Master Hall offered a free month's training to parents or grandparents of current students. I had been wanting to take classes and this was the perfect opportunity.
My daughter had started in the Cubs (affectionately known as "Cubby" or "Cubbies") program when she was about 4 years old. I watched her learn and grow in her martial arts skills through the years. When she started sparring, I would suggest things to her. That is, until I reached green belt and learned it isn't so easy keeping all that together physically and mentally.
Last December I was at Senior Brown level and tested for the Red belt. I earned it.
Somewhere along the way, I had started having lung issues when I sparred, especially at testing. However, multitudes of tests showed that on paper, my lungs are fine. I had also developed some shoulder issues, but I had kept on keeping on. For that last testing, I plastered on about 3 icy hot pads to minimize pain. That turned out to be my last testing for a while.
Doctor visits and x-rays showed inflammation in the shoulders, adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulders). I stopped taekwondo and went into physical therapy for 10 months. Herniated discs in the neck popped up at some point and those were treated to relieve pain.
Though my shoulders are still "frozen" and I don't have full movement, I have gone back into taekwondo rather than have surgery on both shoulders. I am limited in what I can do, but I can still do quite a bit. One major limitation is sparring, however, as that would cause major damage if my arm were to get caught and jerked. A new system (E-CAS [Elite Counter-Agression Skills]) in the ITA is coming at a perfect time for me.
Today, I was able to test for the senior red belt. As it was the late testing day, my daughter and I tested together for the first time. It was a special experience for me to be back at testing, to be able to do my form (albeit not as perfectly as I would like), and to test along with my daughter (who tested for 2nd degree level 3).
Waiting. It's a part of my journey in many aspects of my life. In the past few weeks, I have been able to come out of the taekwondo waiting cocoon and have been able to spread my wings once again. They have strengthened. I wasn't sure I would be able to learn my form in the time I had, about 6 weeks. But, with the help of the instructors, a student manual loaned to me by a friend, some extra time and perseverance, today happened.
Now I can focus on longer stances, better stances, better set ups, etc. More time to strengthen those wings.
The next testing will be for the probationary black belt. But it's not about the ranks. It's about the journey.
My journey in taekwondo is as much a part of who I am as is my spiritual journey and my journeys with relationships. There are times of waiting in each of these as well.
Right now in my spiritual journey, I'm in a time of waiting. You might be too. If you're looking toward Christmas and looking toward the arrival, the coming of Christ, then you're in a waiting period, a season of Advent.
I was challenged this past week: Where is God in my Advent season? And, I realized that in the chaos of it all, I wasn't spending quiet time in anticipation or preparation. So, I've taken some time to PAUSE, to STOP, so I can spend some time waiting. Waiting in expectation.
Where are you experiencing "waits" in your journey? How are you preparing for the arrival of Christ?
May your waiting moments for the Christ child be blessed and filled with joy and adoration.
May the waiting periods in your life strengthen you.
~dd
Psalm 33: 20-22 (NIV)
We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.
PS-- If you'd like to read a book that deals with "waiting", I highly recommend Sue Monk Kidd's When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life's Sacred Questions, HarperOne: 1990.
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