Ping-pong is not generally considered an extreme sport by any stretch of the imagination. I do not think of ping-pong as a dangerous or extreme sport myself. Well, that is until now. My sister recently broke her wrist/arm playing ping-pong, forcing me to view this benign, family friendly game in a whole new light. My sister was not playing in the Olympics or in any competition for that matter. She was playing in her own home with other family members.

As far as I know, ping-pong is not a contact sport. After all, there is a whole table between you and your opponent. You will not be tackled or fouled or body blocked or any such thing that can occur in contact sports. Helmets, padding etc. are not standard gear, nor are they required for ping-pong participants. If there is someone on your side of the ping-pong table, they are your teammate. They are on your side both literally and figuratively. If they do you harm, I think this is what we call “friendly fire.”

My sister’s injury was not the result of “foul play” nor of overzealousness on the part of her opponents. We could blame the positioning of the ping-pong table, as it was placed just outside the garage but (as we now know) too close to the small step that differentiates the garage floor from the concrete of the driveway. It was this small step that tripped her up and caused her downfall, so to speak. With her focus on the game, she basically forgot the step was there until she tripped on it and lost her balance. Surgery and a cast are now required to repair the damage.

I empathize with my sister, as some years ago I too, had a broken wrist/arm and remember, although somewhat vaguely, the pain and the cumbersomeness of a cast. Having broken bones was not on her to do list, nor her bucket list, nor was this unforeseen occurrence included in any of her plans, contingency or otherwise. She has had to cancel a planned trip and in the coming weeks, activities that were not previously challenging will now pose new levels of difficulty.

I have no doubt she will rise to every challenge and find new and ingenious ways to accomplish what used to be simple, mundane, daily tasks. Oh, what we take for granted until it is gone! My takeaway from all this is that I may need to add ping-pong to my list of dangerous, adventurous activities along with bungee jumping and sky diving. I can no longer think of ping-pong as simply a benign, family friendly pastime anymore. I now know what can happen to the unsuspecting participant.

Besides extending my sympathy, I did find some medical advice for my sister in the book of Proverbs which I will share with her and with you, dear readers, just in case you ever find yourselves in a similar circumstance. It is found in Proverbs 3:7-8 which says,

“Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.” (NLT)

That’s what I’m praying for my sister, healing and strength for her broken bones. Thankful to God that He is the ultimate healer and thankful for all the medical professionals that use their God given skills to put people back together when we need it. I think it is only when something is broken, that we realize just how perfectly designed our bodies are in the first place.

“For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:13-14)

Our Heavenly Father specializes in putting broken people back together again, both physically and spiritually. My sister is in good hands. So are you and I, dear readers. I think it’s “safe” for me to live life to the full. I’m not crossing ping-pong off my list.

sincerely, Grace Day