Since I am currently recuperating from surgery, I hope you will allow me to re-share this devotional with you today (as if you have a choice!). I so appreciated all your prayers for me this past week. Surgery went as planned and we are hopeful that it will have a positive impact on my health.
I first shared this devotional with you in 2021…but I realized that I have acquired new readers since then who haven’t read about this miraculous event. And if you are like me…since it’s been five years…even if you read it the first time, you may have forgotten it. So, sit back and relax…and be reminded that we serve a God of miracles!
Oh, how I dreaded the appointment. I had prayed for good news…but honestly, I didn’t think we would get it. I guess I lacked faith…I really didn’t think deep down that God would answer my prayers and the prayers of so many.
Let me give you the Reader’s Digest version to that which I’m referring. Seven and a half weeks ago, my 93-year-old mother-in-law fell and shattered her ankle. It was bad…really bad. Surgery was performed and because of Covid restrictions, I was the only one who would get the report from the doctor. He explained to me that he had to “build” her an ankle…there really wasn’t much left of her natural one. And to make it worse, she has Multiple Myeloma, making her bones extremely soft, which didn’t help his prognosis.
He told me that she wouldn’t be able to put any weight on that foot for at least 2-3 months and it could easily be much longer. I then asked the million-dollar question, “Will she ever walk again?”. He lowered his head, took a deep breath, and replied, “Maybe”. I remember just sitting there for a few moments after he walked away…thinking how hard this would be on Mom. She would hate not being able to get around on her own and be confined to a wheelchair. We were all in for a long road ahead.
Three weeks after her surgery, we returned for her first check-up. The doctor showed us the x-ray so we could see the screws and plates that were now a part of her anatomy. Once again, he explained that she had a long recovery ahead and brought up again the fact that her bones were so soft. He told us to return in a month for another x-ray and to see how much healing had occurred. He said he would re-evaluate at that time whether she could start putting any weight on that foot…but he didn’t hold out much hope.
For the next four weeks we prayed. Many of you prayed, for which we can never thank you enough. I personally prayed that the next set of x-rays would amaze her doctor…that he would be surprised at how much healing had occurred. But again…as much as I wanted this to be the case…my faith was weak in believing it would really happen.
That appointment was last Wednesday and that was the one I was dreading. Mom was convinced that he would tell her she could start putting weight on her foot and I thought she was in for a big disappointment. All day long I tried to think of what I would say to her after we met with the doctor…what words I would use to encourage her and to help her not to be discouraged. I wished that someone else could take her for that appointment…because I just couldn’t bring myself to watch her be so devastated when she didn’t get the news she so desperately wanted to hear.
The x-ray was taken and we waited to meet with the doctor to get the results. He walked in the room and we exchanged some small talk and then the conversation went like this:
Dr: “Well, the ankle looks good…I think she can start wearing a shoe on that foot.”
Me: “Great, so does that mean she can start putting a little weight on it?”
Dr: “No, that means she can start walking. Her ankle is completely healed.”
Let me interject at this point…because I was now in complete shock. I know my mouth was wide open and my eyes had to be like saucers.
Me: “What do you mean by being completely healed?”
Dr: “Look at this x-ray. Four weeks ago, you can clearly see where the break was. On today’s x-ray, we can’t even see the break at all. Her ankle looks normal…it is completely healed. She doesn’t even need to come back to see me. She can resume walking because her ankle is healed.”
By this point, tears were rolling down my cheeks. My first words were “Praise the Lord!” and then I told the doctor that many people had been praying and that I believed Mom was healed because of those prayers and this was a miracle. The doctor totally agreed. He said the amount of healing that occurred in her ankle in four weeks was not normal…that it had to be a result of prayer.
I’ve wondered at times why we don’t see miracles today like they witnessed in Biblical times…well I’m here to tell you…I’ve now witnessed a modern-day one! We feel humbled and blessed beyond measure that God touched Mom in such a powerful way. And believe it or not…this isn’t the first miracle for Mom. When she was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma seven years ago, they said she had two…maybe three years left on this earth…but of course she has proved them wrong.
I don’t know what or who you are praying for today…but I’m here to remind you that we serve an all-powerful God who is still in the miracle business. Keep praying. Keep believing. Keep trusting. Keep putting your faith in the God who can and will do far more than you can even imagine. He alone is worthy of our praise and we give Him ALL the glory for the great things He has done!
“He does great things too marvelous to understand.
He performs countless miracles.”
Job 5:9
