Shut-down Touch-down

On Saturday, my body decided it had had enough, and shut down.



I was at a football game (against Weber) and was enjoying myself with my friend Travis. It was a wonderful, sunny Saturday afternoon, our team was winning, and I had food, water, and a friend to talk to.

Washington State at BYU

Then, about 6 minutes into the fourth quarter, I noticed that I'd ran out of water. My seats are up, up, up, and so started trying to decide if it was worth it to go down and fill it back up or wait for the game to be over. Well, my mind said it would wait, my body said it needed water, now.

By the time I stood up, my body gave up. I didn't quite faint {I looked down and the floor was gross so I thought better of my actions} but I came very close, losing all strength and most of my awareness, my hearing went all funny and my body hurt all over. Luckily no one was sitting behind me at this point, and I could lean back while Travis ran down to get more water. After awhile, strength came back in my bones and I made it down the stairs and into the shade. That was all I could do for a bit, so I sat back down and waited for more strength. Well, this process continued till we got back to Travis' car, and then I was able to get back home.

Thanks for reading about my health, now let me tell you what I learned. Hopefully, you can relate, and we can all remember something valuable.

If you know me, even just by reading this blog, you know that agency is one of my favorite discussions. Throughout this process, I got to see mine at work. There were times that I made distinct choices, and didn't allow my body to rule me completely. For one, I was determined not to faint. I determined not to lay on the gross floor. I willed myself to get up. I prayed for strength to get to a better place, and I found it - but not immediately. I tried my best and had to stop multiple times. Through this process, my body had no interest in moving at all, my heart prevailed and I found healing. Does that make sense? The hurt ended, and while I waited, I found I was able to push forward, to make progress in my little journey, by making decisions I didn't know if I'd be able to.

No matter what, we have choices. Remember: We may not control the initial event that happens to us, but we do have control over our hearts and minds. We can decide that when we are stuck in traffic and we're unhappy, tired, hungry, and bored, to can find peace. We can find healing through the hurts of loneliness, grief, and pain, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Christ grants us strength to do all things, even getting up and walking back to the car, or sitting and reading a long blog post about someone else's journey.

I found this quote again and wanted to share it with you:

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

....

So...be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,

you're off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So...get on your way!

What experiences have you had, where you could have given up, and yet you kept going? What did you learn about yourself?