Going down the slide standing up wasn’t my most brilliant moment.
The girl before me had done it—like a surfer riding a wave. But not me. After a promising start, the toe of my shoe caught on the slide and down I went, landing at the bottom in a heap.
Gasping for air from having the breath out of me, I lifted my arm. It was bent at a strange angle and already beginning to swell. I cradled it to my chest and stumbled to the playground monitor. An x-ray later confirmed the doctor’s suspicions—two broken bones.
“I’m going to have to set it,” the doctor said, “and it’s going to hurt. But only for a moment.” He lowered himself until he was eye-level with my frightened face. “If I don’t set it, the bones will grow back crooked, and you’ll never be able to use your arm. Do you understand?”
I nodded a tearful yes.
Taking my skinny arm gently in his hands and glancing long at the x-ray plastered onto the light box, he paused. Maybe he said a prayer. I don’t know. Then, swiftly and smoothly, he pulled the two parts of my broken arm in place.
I screamed and crumpled into a sobbing ball on the table.
I thought about this experience recently when I read Proverbs 3:5-6,
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.”
The Latin word for straight is orthos. From this root we get the English word “orthopedic,” which means to make children’s (ped) bones straight. This is what the doctor did for me when I was seven years old.
Proverbs 3:5-6 describes what God wants to do for me every day—to make the path of my life straight.
Before he intervened, I was broken and crippled by sin. Paralyzed by fear. Empty and dissatisfied. At 18 years old, I surrendered my will to his. Through the miracle of grace through faith—a precious gift of God—I believed. I flung my whole self on him with no holding back.
“I’ve been living my life my way,” I prayed, “and I’ve been doing a terrible job. I don’t want to be in charge any more. I want you to direct my paths.” My will was broken—in a painfully wonderful way.
Wonder of wonder, God heard the prayer of my heart that day and began to transform me. I wish, like the orthopedist, he had given one pull and straightened out everything in my life, but spiritual breaks don’t heal like that.
Instead, as I read God’s Word and learned to recognize and obey the Holy Spirit’s voice, my twisted path grew less convoluted. The Bible provided direction and helped me make good choices. Wise counselors shared insight and experience. Mentors guided me. I began to fulfill God’s purpose for me—to bring him glory.
Sanctification—becoming more like Jesus—has continued to be painful at times.
Doing the right thing can be unpopular. Sometimes it’s embarrassing. Other times it’s expensive. It’s cost me relationships, jobs, and opportunities.
But oh, the joy of following Jesus. Of trusting his perfect way instead of my flawed and frail one. Of walking in confidence, knowing that as I commit my way to him, he will make my path straight.
I’m thankful for physicians who know how to set broken arms and help them heal. I’m even more thankful for God, the Great Physician, who knows how to straighten our sin-twisted souls and make them whole.
What a miracle.
What a gift.
Now it’s your turn. How has God straightened what was broken in your soul? Leave a comment below and join the conversation.
Does Your Prayer Life Need Refreshing?
We know Bible reading and prayer are vital parts of our faith, but what happens when our prayer lives become stagnant and our quiet times grow stale? We need something more than just familiar verses and the command to pray. In Refresh Your Prayers, Uncommon Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise, Lori Hatcher shares relevant, five-minute devotions that spotlight unusual prayer verses in the Bible.
Each devotion ends with a Power Point (a spiritual truth to empower your faith) and a Praise Prompt (a short prayer designed to magnify God and make your faith soar). The Live It Out section challenges you to apply what you’ve learned right now for immediate change.
If you’re tired of your all-too-quiet quiet time, Refresh Your Prayers is the answer.
The UNcommon Book on Prayer – Unusual Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise
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See also Hosea 6:1-3:
“‘Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is He who has torn, and He who will heal us; He has struck down, and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; He will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.’”
A few years ago, my plan to take a New Year’s Day hike with my family and friends was scuttled by a flare of Multiple Sclerosis. I was sad, mad and a little bitter watching the happy group leave the cabin. For the past several days and on the ride to the cabin, I’d been hearing the Holy Spirit tell me it wanted time with me. Nagging. Demanding. I thought this strange because I’d actually been spending quite a lot of time with the Holy Spirit and in prayer. What more was wanted?
That morning, after waiving goodbye, I went back into the quiet cabin and practically shouted, “Fine! Here I am. Now what? What?!” I watched the sun move round the cabin as the day dragged on. I was lonely and the cabin was too quiet. I turned on the radio. Ha. Out of the radio came a story of a man who’d sat in hospital beside an injured and bitter friend, trying to console him. By “chance” the man opened his Bible to this passage in Hosea and read it aloud to his broken friend. It spoke to the friend as no words had before. Peace filled his heart as he began to understand God both tears and heals — with purpose. Suffering is not without purpose. It presents an opportunity to draw closer to God, to repent, to listen, to learn, to heal, to become whole. The fellow in hospital had planned to be a professional rugby player. The injuries he’d sustained, however, thoroughly quashed that plan. Enter the Holy Spirit. The former rugby player changed course that day and actually ended up building an influential church in New York City in Times Square. I believe he’s written a book or books, too. I wish I could remember his name.
That passage in Hosea has been a life line for me many, many times. Sometimes, we truly do have to be broken to become whole!
As I am learning Ms. Lori, God is breaking me more and more, often into finer and finer pieces to remove all the impurities as He’s remaking me in His Son’s image. Enjoyed your post and encouragement, as always, ma’am. God’s blessings.
This “breaking” is a blessed breaking. It hurts, but the fragrance the pummeling produces is the sweet savor of Christ if we surrender our trials to Him.