Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. But I trust in You, LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in Your hands. Psalm 31:9, 14-15

Bent But Not Broken

I've missed a few of my devotional thoughts for the past few weeks. I've had a series of accidents. I fell and broke my hip in October which was repaired surgically. As I was home recovering and felt well enough to take a few steps without my walker I fell again (my fault this time) breaking the femur in my leg on the same side as my hip. I had to have a second surgery in two weeks. It left me for a month in the hospital and in a nursing home rehabilitation facility for physical therapy.  It was an expensive lesson in patience and common sense that added an extra burden not only on my poor wife, Tommie, but also on my immediate family.

Having learned a great lesson (not to get cocky) I am sticking to my walker and not moving without having someone walking with me.  It's a slow-go for me at the moment but one I'm paying the greatest attention to.

I was considering the spiritual implications to my situation and what was God's lesson through it all? Trust and humility came to mind. But yesterday I received a Christmas news letter from a niece in Seattle. She talked about the difficulty in that sometimes God doesn't always heal a person when we pray for them and they have to heal naturally. He has given our bodies a remarkable ability to heal (Psalm 139:14). She made the statement that coming through it most of us don't reject God because of what we just passed through. Many develop a deeper faith in God than before the trial. Bent but not broken.

As we are in the season of celebration of the incarnate birth of Jesus Christ and His mission (John 1:1-5) we can all take time for a slow-go as we contemplate the Word that came to us in the flesh.

I will continue my weekly devotional thoughts and post them every Monday. In the meanwhile I would appreciate your prayers. Keep checking back. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to you and your families! May you experience God's grace, peace, and mercy in your lives during this marvelous season.

Ken