Jen’s Gem: God is ready to help you with everything.

From the minute I learned of her injury to the moment of her operation, I prayed. I asked other people to pray. I prayed for a miracle. I prayed that the doctor would review her MRI and be in shock to see the ACL had completely repaired itself. This did not happen.About a month ago, my daughter had ACL repair surgery. It goes without saying that learning that your child requires an operation is frightening. While the doctor was abundantly qualified, I still cried in his office during her pre-op appointment asking for his guarantee that he’d take care of my little girl.

Days prior to the surgery, I began to feel overwhelmed. How was I going to care for my daughter who would be immobile for days? How would I balance doing my work, caring for her, Ubering my son to where he needed to go? How would I handle seeing her in pain and helpless? How this and how that questions bobbed in and out of my head, begging to be answered.

On the day of the surgery, I was surprisingly calm. The medical staff was warm and welcoming. The doctor was confident and comforting to both of us. As they wheeled her away, I knew there’d be an uphill challenge facing me in a few hours. I prayed again.

A Different Kind of Miracle

The surgery went flawlessly, better than the doctor expected. When I saw my daughter afterwards, her first words to me were “Mommy, I talked to Jesus.” I stood there in shock, not knowing what to say to her. She didn’t describe the conversation or make mention of it again. The details of this event are between her and Jesus.

In that moment, I knew things would be alright. Despite the nurses rambling off instructions faster than a freight train to me, I had a deep-seated confidence that she would recover quickly and fully. While the days following were challenging, she was up and around faster than expected.

Days after surgery, the crutches were gone. A few weeks later, the massive leg brace was gone. Stitches are out and the incisions are healing. Today, she is walking beautifully. Her physical therapy is progressing quickly. Even her doctor said she is doing great. She is driving again and even though she’s not permitted to run or squat, she can easily maneuver through her day. I’m so thankful.

My prayers for a miraculous healing were not answered but God did something better. He got us all through this. He gave me physical strength to be able to lift my daughter when needed and administer medications in the middle of the night. He eliminated her pain so that she did not need as much “hands-on” help as predicted. He brought visitors to her to lift her spirits (and bring her way too much candy!) He blessed me with a spirit of confidence that I could take care of her as well as take care of my other responsibilities.

Pray for Help With Your Through

There are times people feel that God has abandoned them because He didn’t fix something in their lives. They saw no miracle. It’s hard to understand and trying to do so is a big waste of time. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way. Here’s the scoop – God knows every nanosecond of your life from before you were born to the moment you leave this world. He knows exactly what you and He will do every single day. His plan is flawless. Even when we’re not aligned with this plan for whatever reason, He works all things out for good.

Through this process, I learned to be thankful every single day of my daughter’s recovery. I learned to trust that God had His capable hands on her and me enabling both of us to do what we needed to do. While He didn’t deliver a miraculous cure, He delivered something better. He delivered a miraculous recovery.

 If you are facing a tough challenge that hasn’t been fixed by a miracle, I’d like to encourage you to ask God to help you to get through it. Ask Him for strength and wisdom so you can face each day with confidence and peace. Ask Him to send you help so you don’t have to bear the burden yourself. Ask Him to help you with your “through.”

While these may not be the Red Sea parting miracles you desire, they are miracles in and of themselves because each of them will draw you closer to Him.

And that’s the miracle God wants.