As soon as I placed my foot on the edge of the porch, I knew I was in trouble.
As I fell through the air over the steps, I remember thinking, Oh, no! I’m going to fall! I hit the sidewalk face-first with a hard thud.
I was at my older neighbor’s house. For many years, a ramp had been leading from her porch because she walked with a walker. But she had gone to live in a nursing home a short time before, and the ramp had been removed. I remembered that too late.
Later, in the emergency room, I was diagnosed with a hematoma—bleeding on the brain—a concussion, and minor seizures. For two days, I hovered near death as my family hovered near me.
This was a new experience for me. With my bruised and swollen face, I looked as though I had been in a fight and lost all rounds. After being in the hospital for eight days, I was transferred to a rehab closer to home. Simple therapy was begun immediately, and I pushed myself to do whatever the therapists suggested.
Occasionally, I despaired of being able to walk again without assistance. But through the encouragement of the therapists and my family, I persisted.
Finally, after thirty-three days, the going-home day came. Rehab had held days of challenge, but I overcame them with the Lord’s help.
Romans 8:28 is one of my favorite Bible verses. I began claiming that verse as a promise of God’s faithfulness when I went through another trial many years before.
After being a patient myself, I now have more compassion and understanding of the frustrations and helplessness patients sometimes experience.
Your heartaches and challenges may differ from mine, but the Lord walks with you through your valley just as he walked with me through mine. He will use every despairing moment to draw you nearer to Him and work for your good.
Make it a point to let God meet your needs when you are in the valley.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay and StockSnap.)
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Norma C. Mezoe strives to be a Barnabas in her writing and in her living. Norma has been a published writer for thirty years and has written for magazines, devotionals, and S.S. literature. She is active in her small church as clerk, teacher, and bulletin maker. Norma may be contacted at normacm@tds.net.