Three weeks ago, I ruptured my Achilles tendon during a dance class.

A rupture occurs when the band of tissue holding the heel bone and calf together completely tears, leaving a gap at the back of the ankle.

I remember hearing a pop, like someone suddenly squeezed the air out of a small balloon. There wasn’t any pain in the moment, and still, the pain is minimal as I get around with a medical boot.

I’m letting it heal on its own. I’m told the two ends will meet and be resewn into a tendon over several months. It’s incredible what the body can do!

But as I’ve had time to rest, it’s been essential for me not to let the grief of losing the ability to walk and move freely get overwhelming.

While I journaled some of my thoughts down during the second week of recovery, the song “My Reward” by UPPERROOM came to mind as I asked God to anchor me in truth:

Shepherd of my soul

I’m mended and made whole

Giver of all good things I have

There is not one thing that I lack

I will trust you on the way up

I will trust you on the way back down

I’ll be content, no matter where I am

You are my Reward

12/03/25

Many things change when your body can no longer do what it used to. I realized, as I slowed down, that as my ankle heals again, I can invite a deeper healing to happen, too.

This injury made me need… Help. Support. Encouragement. Hope.

I needed to keep going, and God filled that need with the kindness of family and friends. God was the fulfillment of my need while I prayed at night, asking why and pushing back the worry that I might not be able to move confidently in the future.

Situations that leave us uncertain open a wide space for God to be who he perfectly is: The ultimate Reward.

Life changes, and my Reward remains unchanged.

Our lives may change, going up and down, but our Reward will forever stay the same.

The song later follows with these words:

Whether I’m fulfilled

Whether I’m still believing

I have all I need

As long as I have you, Jesus

So far in my recovery, the Holy Spirit has held me with this:

I am who God made me to be, within and beyond the body that carries me.

If I’m with a good God, then a good life will follow, on Earth and beyond, no matter what.

“Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same.” James 1:17

~ Jazlyn

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