Turning Trials into Triumphs: How to Turn Your Darkest Days into Strength

Originally posted on Cherished Her.

It’s been 288 days since the pain started.

It was a beautiful spring day in April. Joy was evident in the atmosphere that day despite the intense workout that was quickly approaching. There always seems to be a shift in the air as soon as February is over. Have you ever heard of “The Dark Month?” This phrase was coined at Liberty University when I attended there as a freshman. The professors recognized that February was a dreary month and gave students a free mental health day when needed. Isn’t that so nice? I even participated in one of those “mental health days.” Was it needed? Maybe not. But was it necessary? Absolutely. Anyway, back to April. 

The Workout

My track and field team competed at York College the previous week and performed well. Given we were mid-season, training only seemed to get harder…well, it did get more challenging. We had an endless 400 workout on the track. I know you must be thinking, “How could a coach make their athletes do an endless number of 400s in the middle of their season?” “That is brutal.” It was a difficult workout, but we only did about four to six, depending on our ability to match our speed each lap or get faster. If we could not get faster, then we had to stop.  

Being as competitive as I am, I knew the 400 workout would hurt. By the end, I had run six 400s consistently faster, not bad, right? I felt what any athlete would expect after sprinting around the track that much: pain and soreness. But then I woke up the following day. 

The Next Day

Excruciating pain from my lower left back down into my foot consumed me. It hurt to walk. Heat and ice did not work. Inflammatories did not work. The previous week, I had run my lifetime personal record in the 800-meter race, and now I couldn’t even walk. Fear, confusion, sorrow, anger, frustration, and envy flooded my mind. Why me? I spent months training for this season, and now can barely walk. How did I go from having one of my best races ever to a life filled with constant pain?

Every day, I showed up to practice and competitions to cheer on my team. I was thrilled I could still attend team functions and be the team cheerleader, but part of me envied them. I wished I was the one training and competing. I could not understand why I went through all of the trouble to transfer to Messiah University to be an athlete and to run my lifetime personal record just to be told I had to stop training. I could not understand why I worked so hard for everything to be taken away so fast. 

The Process

I was determined not to give up, and I still haven’t. Week after week, month after month, I had physical therapy. I found out that I have a piriformis dysfunction, gluteal tendinopathy, and bursitis in both of my hips. I had multiple MRIs done, one where they injected dye to see the muscles better in a specific area. I got numerous different opinions from doctors, all of which told me they did not have an answer to why my body was reacting this way. I received physical therapy to treat a pelvic floor dysfunction to find out later that it was my piriformis causing the issues the whole time. For further explanation, the piriformis muscle is in your glute and runs into your hip. When irritated, this muscle swells and pushes on the sciatic nerve, which then shoots pain down the whole leg. 

It has been six months since that day, and I still struggle with these issues, I may even for the rest of my life. But I share all of my experiences as an injured collegiate athlete to shed some light. There is so much the Lord has taught me through my collegiate track and field career at Messiah University. 

God Calls Us to Embrace the Hurt

God made us do hard things, not easy things. Life isn’t perfect. We are going to face trials, struggles, and even fall down. But God reminds us that even in our lowest moments, he is with us. He reminds us that when we are weak, he is strong. 

In Isaiah 43:2, God says, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” 

When we go through hard seasons, God will be with us. He will be our strength. It is beautiful to recognize that God has already foretold that we will make it through every situation with him. Does that mean it will be easy? No. Does it mean I can do it on my own? No. God says, “When you go…I will be with you.” God created us to do hard things. God allows us to go through hard times so that we may recognize our need for him. If I have learned anything from embracing the hurt, it would be that God is faithful. He will see you through every situation you face in life, good and bad. 

My challenge for you would be to embrace the hard things in your life. When you do so, pray that God will lead you and be your strength. He loves you and has such great plans for you. You just have to pray. 

God Gives Us New Perspectives

Through my experience as a collegiate athlete, the Lord has taught me a lot about the importance of community. One thing I will forever be grateful for through this experience is the people. At the end of the day, we are all growing up, gaining knowledge and expertise to soon go out into the world to be productive members of society. But for now, we are teammates, friends, and even sisters.

Being injured forced me to take a step back and reflect. This sport, this team, is much more than a number or a personal record. This team has become my family. The Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to love and serve these ladies in ways I never would have if I were competing every weekend.

In Colossians 1:28-29 we are told to “tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.”

My Challenge for You

We can work through our struggles and pain because God gives us the power and strength to do so. God equips and calls us to go out and love others with the gifts he has so graciously blessed us with. God gave me a wonderful opportunity to pour into the lives of my teammates. And yes, it is hard to be injured and sitting on the sideline, but I am thankful that the Lord keeps presenting opportunities to love and encourage my girls in their athletic and faith journeys.

If you struggle to embrace difficult areas in your life, invite the Lord into those places. He can do so much in you and through you, even through such heartache and anguish. I have not been healed physically, but the Lord has healed me mentally and emotionally. He has opened so many opportunities through my injury. I have grown closer to the Lord more through this injury than ever before in my life. This is because he has become more evident in my injury than ever before. I have failed to recognize his work in the mundane before, but God has captured my heart.

You can do hard things. You can embrace difficult situations. Why? Because God’s got you.