Accidental Fall Victim Prayer for Physical and Emotional Recovery
This Accidental Fall Victim Prayer helps you honestly pray to God about the physical and emotional effects after falling. After an accidental fall, attention is often focused on diagnosing and treating the physical injuries. Prayer can be a way of honestly exploring your emotional reactions as you seek God’s help in coping with this often untreated result of a fall.
Accidental Fall Victim Prayer for Physical and Emotional Recovery
Dear Lord, I fell. And I really hurt myself. I don’t know how it happened. I was in a hurry, as I often am. One minute I was moving along and the next, I was on the floor. I hurt all over, Lord. I’ve had x-rays and scans. People say I’m lucky, but I don’t feel lucky. I feel angry. Angry that this happened to me and angry at myself. When will I learn not to be in such a rush to accomplish things? Why did this happen to me?
There is so much I can’t do now, Lord. The doctor says I need to do exercises to strengthen the parts of my body that are injured. Those exercises hurt! And they are boring. I really don’t have time to do them.
The worst thing, Lord, is that I’ve lost my self-confidence because of this fall. What if I fall again? I’ve always felt strong and energetic and now I don’t. I feel tentative. I feel frail and vulnerable. I really hate that feeling.
So Lord, I need your help. Please help me get past this anger and the questions about how and why I fell. It happened and I need to deal with it.
Please help me do the exercises the doctor has recommended for me to regain my strength.
Help me learn to be more cautious, to slow down, to be aware of my surroundings and anything hazardous I should avoid.
And most of all, Lord, please help me feel good about myself again. I just can’t let this fall define me. Reassure me that I will be strong again – that I will be the person I once was. A tentative life is no life at all.
Please be with me as I heal, Lord. Give me patience for the journey ahead. Whisper in my ear that I will be all right. Because I know, deep inside, that I WILL be all right. Thank you for being with me always, even when I am frail. Especially when I am frail.
Amen
The story behind this prayer
I experienced an accidental fall the morning of my older daughter Melissa’s wedding. My husband Jeff and I had gone to the wedding venue, a beautifully furnished older home, to help Melissa and her fiance’ Daniel decorate the tables. Melissa asked me to take her wedding dress upstairs to the bride’s room where she would change. I scurried up the polished mahogany staircase and hung her gown, then hustled down the stairs holding Daniel’s clothing in the plastic bag. The next thing I knew I was on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. I heard women screaming. Then Jeff was there beside me.
I had a knot on my head and my shoulder hurt. Otherwise I was great. Jeff said, “We need to get you to the Emergency Room.” I protested a bit, but finally relented. The doctor at the ER said I had a two-point landing – my shoulder and then my head. Several X-Rays and a Cat Scan later, he determined I had neither broken bones nor a concussion. He sent me home in a sling.
I was crushed and horrified! I had ruined Melissa’s wedding. I went home and put ice on my shoulder and cried. I would have to miss the wedding. My younger daughter Brooke said, “Mom, I’ll help you get ready.” And she did. I ditched the sling, took some Advil, and let Brooke dress me in my sparkly outfit and do my hair and makeup. It wasn’t quite the way I would have done it, but it worked out. I attended the lovely wedding, toasted the couple, and had a wonderful time. I didn’t ruin things after all. A visit to a Bone and Joint doctor and an MRI would come later.
If I had it to do over, I wouldn’t rush down those polished mahogany stairs. I wouldn’t be carrying something in one hand and not using the banister. I would have noticed how steep and slick those stairs were. That fall taught me a lesson – a hard one – but one I’ll remember for a long time. I am not indestructible. I need to be careful!
About accidental falls
According to the World Health Organization, falls are the second leading cause of accidental or unintended injury deaths worldwide, second only to traffic accidents. They are considered a global major public health problem. The most at-risk groups include the elderly and children.
After any accidental injury such as a fall, it’s normal to experience an emotional reaction soon afterwards. However, mental health experts advise that you should seek professional help if your emotions don’t stabilize or become worse after you enter the rehabilitation stage or have difficulty emotionally coping with changes in your mobility or your lifestyle.
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Copyright Pat Butler Dyson 2018. All rights reserved.