LAKE THERAPY

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La Casa, Lake of the Ozarks, MO
Lake Therapy, Lake of the Ozarks, MO

The healing process continues after four months of knee replacement physical therapy. A round of golf was one of the primary driving goals from the outset and is now imminent. I’m recording the dawn of a new day in one of the myriad sheltered coves on 1200 miles of shoreline at the Lake of the Ozarks. Chickadees and wrens are joined in praise songs for another spectacular sunrise creation over the vast lake waters. Large bodies of water instinctively draw the human spirit to them, perhaps for the serenity we always enjoy there and possibly because they stir long forgotten memories of our sheltered time in the fluid of the womb.

A long fresh air boating excursion on the lake with close family is another leap forward from a major operation. The whole being of body and soul experience a renewal as the miracle of God’s healing power is released. Puffy early summer cumulus clouds lazily drift overhead against a clear blue sky, remnants of the violent storms that were spawned just days before. A great blue heron regally sits atop his throne on the surrounding canopy of trees lining the steep limestone bluffs created by ancient primordial oceans. Fresh water spray cools the temple and exposed skin.

There’s nothing more therapeutic than moving through warm waters and cool morning breezes on a large expanse of relatively placid water while breathing in the filtered fresh air that naturally wafts over and around you. You can sense the healing power of vitamin C being absorbed from the warm sunbeams that offset the cool air. You can’t leave the lake without reflecting the sun’s glow from exposed skin that has been naturally pampered by nature’s spa. Even the fading red character line extending along the full breadth of my knee has now been feathered into the overall whole. And the painful reality of my recovery has now been feathered into the fading memory of the distant past as I clean up my golf clubs.