“What just happened? And how did I get on the floor?” These questions went through my mind while I clenched my teeth because of the sudden onset of severe pain in my leg. One minute I’m running down the stairs to head out the door to go pick up some sushi, and in a matter of seconds, I found myself lying at the bottom of the stairs in the condo where we were staying on family vacation. I tried to stand up, but it was clear in an instant that that wasn’t going to happen. Something was definitely wrong with my left leg. “I think it’s broken,” I said to myself. The pain was still radiating at a ten when I called my son to help me. We both looked at my knee cap. It wasn’t where it was supposed to be, and I couldn’t straighten my leg.
We had no other choice but to call 9-1-1. The ambulance arrived quickly, and within half an hour, I was seen by a cast of medical professionals at an ER. I was glad to hear that my leg was not broken, but when they told me that my quadricep tendon had ruptured and that it was going to need surgery and months of physical therapy, my spirit was broken.
Here I go…again!
You see, in the fall of 2023, I had open-heart surgery and was determined not only to survive but return stronger and better than before. And sixty cardiac rehab sessions later, I did.
In the spring of 2024, I had ankle fusion surgery to relieve chronic pain and be able to put my strong heart to work by leaning into life.
By the summer of 2024, I was done with casts, crutches, and boots. I was finally ready to thrive. New heart. New ankle. Lesssgoooo!
Now this. Really, God?
This latest surgery took place on August 14, 2025. The estimated recovery time is four to six months. When they told me, I was floored (pun intended!) But that’s when it hit me: this is just something that I have to go through. I can’t go around it. I can’t go over it. I have to go through it.
That means I need to be determined.
To Be Determined…
It starts with a DESIRE.
A desire to heal, to change, to get “unstuck,” to get back “on track,” to achieve, or to arrive somewhere else than you are at right now.
- What do you truly desire?
- Do you know what God desires for you?
- Do you desire what God desires for you?
- Are you willing to let His desires shape your own?
Desire is just the seed. It’s a starting point, but it takes more than that to be determined.
It needs a DECISION.
If you get an invitation to an event and you really want to attend, it’s not enough to just say, “Cool. I want to go to that!” You need to respond to the RSVP with a “yes” or a “no.” Desire without decision stalls.
- What is your decision?
- Will you decide to make that change or pursue that goal?
- Will you decide to surrender what is holding you back
- Will you decide to pursue the life God is calling you to?
Determination only takes root when desire becomes a decision.
It requires DEPENDENCE.
You can handle the follow-through on a lot of decisions that you make, but the ones that require you to be determined are a different breed. Some decisions you can carry out in your own strength, but the decisions that shape your destiny can be filled with hard roads, loneliness, distractions, detours, and setbacks. They require leaning on God and walking with others.
- Are you willing to cry out to God in full dependence?
- Will you trust God’s strength when yours runs out?
- Will you allow others to speak into your life and hold you accountable?
- Will you choose to surrender daily, not just once?
Determination can’t survive in isolation. It withers without dependence. I know that if I don’t depend on God and include others, my determination will fizzle out quickly.
During this current season of my life, I have been ruminating on these Scripture passages to fuel my determination, which is activated by my desire, my decisions, and my dependence on God and others. Maybe they will help you, too, to be determined.
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore… I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV).
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” Romans 12:12 (NIV).
There are a number of things that are also needed for us to be determined, but these three are foundational. As we move into another Bridgeway ministry year, where do you need to be determined?
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