Bruised Heel?

I was bored. We were killing this team 13 to 0, and I found my self walking around the field waiting for something exciting to happen. Then suddenly I saw him break away from the very back. Kicking up black rubber beads from the turf, my feet swung swiftly in alternating rhythm as I approached him. There was no way he was going to score with only one minute remaining in this ridiculous game! I thought to myself. A final leap, I sliced the ball from his feet and hurled it out of bounds before he could chop it into the net. And in my elation and pride saving glory, I felt such pain in my foot that I immediately had to rip off my cleat. The last twenty seconds ticked away, and with them went the use of my left foot for the next month.

That was three weeks ago... my heel is still bruised. I have had to slow down quite a bit since then. No more 6 mile Saturday runs. Instead the following have ensued:. Crappy soccer playing. Daily heel icing rituals. Cold feet before bedtime. And through all of this, I have often thought of the scripture in Genesis 3:15 where the Lord tells Satan:
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

I'm grateful it is just my heel that was injured in that game, but it sure has hurt me. I couldn't even walk on that foot the day after it happened. Furthermore, I've lost all the running momentum I had gained through the month of January. I was breezing up hills, and 6 miles was becoming incredibly comfortable. Though this week I finally felt that with a taped heel I could run a short distance. However on my 3 mile run this Wednesday, I found myself having to walk, especially up hills. I couldn't breathe. My legs were shaky. And I still felt pain in my foot.

Going through this experience, I feel like I have greater understanding of this scripture. Getting your heel bruised is like letting Satan into your life in some way. Some examples of this are:

• You stop reading your scriptures everyday.
• You stop praying on a consistent basis... at least three times day, at least
• You stop going to church.
• You stop serving others.
• You become a commandment/covenant breaker.

And as you do these things, you become debilitated in certain ways. You grow less and less close to the Spirit of the Lord. Your heart slowly gets harder and more closed. You become more defensive, more selfish, more offended by others, more angry and more lonely, and eventually you become depressed.

But if you have bruised your heel, the good news is that it doesn't have to stay that way. Now, if I hadn't iced my heel and stayed off of it, it would have gotten worse and never healed. But, I am soon to be completely recovered from this injury, which is exactly how the Atonement of Jesus Christ works in our lives.

Though sometimes, a slow and painful process, it is possible to overcome any spiritual injury we have afflicted upon ourselves. It is possible to regain the level of spirituality we once had before. I will have to train for another month again before I can glide up those hills and breathe easily on a six mile run, but I know I will be able to accomplish it. Through repentance and obedience to God's commandments, we can slowly rebuild our faith in Jesus Christ and our ability to follow his teachings. I know he loves us, and this is why he will heal us when we allow him to.