The Time is Now

Four days after my previous post, I found out I had a detached retina. My doctor schedule me for surgery right away. Instead of a simple laser surgery, it was much more complicated. It was "surgery-surgery." But what was supposed to be a short recovery turned into a lengthy time of complications and intense pain.

In addition to my pain and weakness, my eyes were extremely sensitive to light. I had to sit inside my condo for 5 weeks straight with the blinds closed. And you know how much I love being outside in the sunshine, so that was torture for me.

Also, it hurt to look at a computer screen for several weeks, so I couldn't work either. I couldn't drive since I was on pain meds and the surgery had temporarily made my vision worse. I was so bored and depressed. In trying not to feel sorry for myself, I kept thinking it could be worse, and that I should be thankful for God's blessings. A difficult thing to do when the stabbing pain is an 8 on a scale from 1 to10!

The first day I was able to get back to church I saw someone from the congregation who is blind. The first day I was able to get back to work, I saw another person who is blind. It was a humbling reminder that, even though God wasn't minimizing what I was experiencing, He was confirming my thoughts.

God's Perfect Timing

The entire month of January was slow in that I wasn't getting any new clients and couldn't understand why. But of course God knew. He knew what was ahead of me and that I wouldn't be able to work at all in February due to my surgery and recovery.

This also explains why my part of the mission trip to Brazil was postponed from early March to mid July. I was still struggling in early March from the surgery.

I praise God none of this occurred during paddle season or else I really would've been depressed. In

fact, one of the weeks I was stuck inside was when schools closed because of all the flu and strep cases going around. At least I was protected from that!

The only things that kept me from diving into a depression were of course God, calls/visits/meals from friends, and college basketball. If it hadn't been conference championship and tournament season, I would've been bored out of my mind since there's not much else I like to watch on TV.

Thank God I'd already submitted my manuscript for the book version of this blog to my publisher before my surgery. They were able to do a lot of the edits while I was recovering. However, the surgery did delay the release date, but that's okay. I know God's timing is perfect.

The Time is Now

Despite having to have a second retina surgery at the end of April, I'm now back on the water! And God is showing me it's the perfect time to release the 30-day devotional inspired by this blog.

The book is now available for purchase online. I'll also be holding a book signing here in Nashville at the end of June (date and location TBD). Proceeds will go to funding the remainder of my expenses for my mission trip to Brazil in July.

I'm so excited to see what God is going to do with this book. And I'm so honored that champion SUP racer and pro surfer Candice Appleby penned the foreword to the book. She is a sister in Christ who openly shares her faith in the SUP community. She continually points her achievements in SUP and surfing back to God, always giving Him the glory.

Click here to order your copy of the SUP: Spiritual Understanding and Prayer on a Stand Up Paddleboard. Thank you in advance for supporting this project. Your purchase creates a ripple effect in God's kingdom just like a single drop of water does in an ocean!