I'm Walking!

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement with my hip surgery. And now, I just have a little something to say about Tommy Robinson and Jacob wrestling with God.

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I have a brand-new hip and it’s fantastic. This is the sort of thing that makes me thankful for modern medicine. My surgeon, the nurses, the physical therapist, everyone has been so kind, so encouraging. I thank God every day for his blessings!

Here’s some of my artwork from All the Children of the World to express how I feel.

I also want to thank all of my readers and listeners for your good wishes, your prayers and your encouragement. Over and over, I am reminded how blessed I am to have so many wonderful people around me, besides, of course, my family. I’m sure over the past week I’ve missed answering some of the messages but know that every message has contributed greatly to my recovery.

I was thinking about it all, my head flooded with thoughts, as I walked down the street for the first time yesterday. Yes, six days after surgery I was walking down the street, all by myself, no walker, no cane! Today, I walked about three quarters of a mile.

There I was, putting one foot in front of the other, and it was no small matter. And I thought about all the times in my life that I found it hard to put one foot in front of another and I still did it. And each time I made that choice, it didn’t get easier, but I got stronger.

This is the longest I’ve gone without writing in the past three years. Wow, a week and a half, I can’t believe it. It’s been really nice, actually, to leave all the news behind and yes, in the past couple of days I’ve dipped my toes into posting a few Notes on Substack, but mostly, I’ve let it all go.

One thing I didn’t realize was how time-consuming physical therapy would be. I have a list of exercises that gets longer with each visit of the physical therapist. Having been a trainer myself, (boxing, kickboxing, spin, and TRX) I appreciate someone guiding me. She’s wonderful!

For some reason, today, amongst all my thoughts of walking, I started thinking about Jacob wrestling with God, or an angel, or however you see it, from Gensis 32: 24-28. This isn’t the first time I’ve thought of those verses. I have thought of them many, many times over the years. I know it’s not a story most women would think of relating to, but I really have always loved this story. I have always been a fighter, and I have always been someone who stuck my neck out and put myself in situations that others might find foolish or dangerous. I have done this because I yearned for the truth, and I knew that sitting back wasn’t the answer, jumping in was the only way I would find out.

So, Jacob came to mind again, especially with this this hip surgery:

And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

Of course, I don’t presume to be anything like such a great man of God as Jacob and then he became Israel, what a glorious name. But in my own small way, I have wrestled, I have argued, and I have prevailed because God was with me. I can say that many times when I could have retreated because it would have been safer, I chose to stand up, and God stood with me in those moments.

This is something I am thinking a lot about as I finish writing the story of my life in Luxor, Egypt. First of all, I could have chosen never to go, and people certainly told me I was crazy to do so. Second of all, once I did go, I could have remained silent about what happened, because plenty of people have since derided me and threatened me for speaking out about it.

I don’t care. I am so glad I went to Luxor. I am so glad I had those experiences, and I lived to tell the tale. Many women who have been helped as a result and that alone makes it all worthwhile.

And then, I saw this video of Tommy Robinson a few days ago. And wow, I knew I had to put it here, with my first post back after surgery. It just really energized me, which is exactly what I need right now!

Oh, I know Tommy is rough and flawed. I know he is controversial. It’s easy to criticize him. And I am sure for some very good reasons. On the other hand, here is a man who wrestles with God. A man who seeks the truth, who wants to see it with his own eyes. A man like Jacob. I believe God loves men like this.

An ordinary streetwise guy who refuses to be put down, to be stopped. And that’s what makes him a very big problem for those in power. Dangerous. Somehow, he just keeps coming back to haunt them. That’s why he was imprisoned and put into solitary confinement.

In the short video below, Tommy says he went to Israel to find out the truth, which is quite incredible. (Why didn’t Dave Smith do that?)

He describes how there were big signs saying, “don’t go here, it’s too dangerous.” So, guess what, that’s where he went. He went exactly where he was told not to go. He went where 99.9% of the people in the world will not go because they are afraid, because they don’t really want to know the truth. They prefer the comfort of lies.

Listen to what Tommy says. The fire in his spirit caught mine.

I completely relate to what he is saying. This is what I did when I went to live in Luxor—except for a much longer period of time. More than anything, I wanted to know the truth of Islam. Seeing with my own eyes, experiencing it was the only way I could find out. I look forward to writing more about those experiences for my book in the days to come. This is just a short piece to get me back in practice!

By the way, if you haven’t watched the film that got Tommy into so much trouble, please watch it.

It’s called Silenced.

You know you are speaking the truth when those in power do everything they can to silence your voice.

No matter the threats, no matter the intimidation, still speak out.

Taking those first steps after surgery, the fear is great. But hey, the only way to get stronger is to keep going.

Each step we take, we make a choice, to stand or to fall.