Faith Story: My Ankle

When my children were little, we would have "Faith" devotions where we would recount the times the Lord had performed miracles on our behalf. I would tell my kids the stories of how the Lord had healed and spared their parent's, grandparents and great grandparents and other family members. Of course, we would make sure we recognized the new things the Lord did for us and others. We called them "Faith Stories". This past week, one of those stories was brought back to my mind and I'll share it with you here.

When we lived in Texas, (Dustin was in 1st grade) I broke my foot. That day I had called a refrigerator repairman to fix our refrigerator. On the way down the stairs, I missed the last step and fell on my right foot and felt like I had broken something in it. I painfull crawled to the telephone to call my mother and sat on the floor and cried. Suddenly there was a knock on the door...the repairman had arrived! I yelled at him to come on in (who locks doors in the country??), which he did. Little did he know that he would have to help me off the floor and onto the couch. My mother arrived shortly and I was shaking with shock. I was very disappointed because we were having a much looked-forward to Revival that night at church. I loudly protested that I was not going to miss that revival!! The whole time the repairman just did his job and listened.

So we wrapped my foot with a bandage and later that night I hobbled on crutches to church.....where I got annointed and prayed for. By the time I quit shouting around the church, I knew that the Lord had healed the broken spot in my foot, even though my foot was still tender and sore for another day.

Two days later, the repairman showed up at my door with the part he had needed to order to fix
the refrigerator. Without thinking, I walked to the door and opened it and let him in. He started to come in and then stopped. He slowly looked down at my foot and said, "I didn't expect to see you walking today." I looked at him with a smile on my face, "I told you, I wasn't going to miss that Revival! I had them annoint and pray for me and the Lord healed it!" He didn't say another word; fixed my refrigerator and then went on his way.

Fast forward 20+ years.

This past Friday (day after Thanksgiving), I stepped out onto the porch and this same ankle gave way and I fell. Of course, my family heard my cries and came rushing to my side and got me into the house and then to one of those "doc in the box" places that remain open after office hours. After couple of more hours in the waiting room the MedHelp doctor ordered x-rays and then later came to examine me. She asked, "Have you had a previous injury to this foot?" At the time, I couldn't pin-point the exact time, but said "yes". She explained that she really wasn't sure, but thought she might see some splintering of one of the bones in my foot and that she couldn't tell if it was the new or old injury. She thought it may be old. So, she was going to send me to the hospital emergency room to see an orthopedic surgeon to check it out and he would take his own x-rays.

In the car, I finally remembered the previous injury to my right foot. Suddenly a wave of disappointed just swept over me and the enemy starting making his accusations; "See, God didn't really heal your foot did he?" I struggled with this disappointment for a few moments, until I started remembering what happened at that Revival so many years ago. I could not walk into the church at all and had to be practically carried by my husband up the stairs ( I was a lot skinnier then!) and I couldn't move it without pain. I really felt the Lord touch me that night and I walked out of the church on my own. After a day of tenderness, I continued to walk painfree for all these years!

Suddenly, I told the enemy..."Well if God didn't heal the bone itself completely, then He has let me walk around all these years PAIN FREE with a splintered bone in my foot. What a miracle!! Praise God!"

After sitting in the hospital emergency room for another 2 hours, I finally was taken back for x-rays and the orthopedic surgeon came in and told me the news; that I had badly sprained my ankle and that a tendon had pulled away from the bone and took a little chip of bone with it. No surgery, just wear the boot.

I asked him about the "splintering" the other doctor thought she had seen. He said, "I don't see any signs of splintering." When I told him, "That's why she sent me over here; she didn't know if it was an old injury or not", the doctor said "I've been doing this for 20+ years and I didn't see any evidence of splintering."

I just smiled.

All the enemy can do is cast doubt....

he can't undo what God has done.