Tenaciously Transparent

The picture at the top of the screen, and to your left is me, behind the bars of my mountain bike, her name is Scarlett. I picked up riding about four years ago, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve never really been athletically inclined, the sport of mountain biking really did a lot for my confidence and trust in myself. It pushed me to be better, stronger, faster, and more balanced. I was on the swim team when I was younger, and I did alright in that, but I never knew adrenaline until I got behind these bars. I’ve climbed many mountains on this bike, literally and figuratively. The challenge of different trails, inclines and declines, any mountain biker knows that to get that epic downhill, ya gotta climb. It’s a mental battle at that point. You say to yourself, “I’ve gotta climb 2 miles before my reward…….. can I make it without walking?”

When I actually decided to push through the burn in the thighs, the weak and trembling calves, (did I mention only half of my calf works?,) and aching tailbone, and I got to the top of that climb… and had the privelege of seeing a view that so few see, I was amazed, every, single, time. The sun’s rays over the mountain range, and the fog in the valley, the birds and wildlife, the crisp mountain air that fills the lungs, it’s euphoric. The reward is, you were blessed to tackle that feat, and revel in the masterpiece of nature. It’s an incredible feeling.

I wished 2018 would have been another year of hammering more trails, but the Lord had a different trail in mind for me, with different obstacles, a few “falls”, and a couple unexpected twists and turns – made for one pretty interesting and blessed downhill, one that produced a different strength and different set of muscles, my faith muscles. A discovery had finally been made in my health, a rare diagnosis that was finally revealed, after years of a silent struggle. The truth of that transparent avenue? Neurofibromatosis. It’s a genetic mutation where my body grows benign tumors on my nerves. November of 2017 is when the nerve pain begun, and landed me at Emory February 1st of 2018. The quest for answers and relief started then and there. To be continued….. but, I’m entering 2019 with more knowledge of my body, a stronger mind frame, and a little more structure to my faith limp.