If you had asked me prior to December 31, 2011, “How do you feel about walking?” 

I would have looked at you strangely and replied, “Walking is as natural as breathing!  I walk for everything: work, exercise, and just for fun.”

I don’t remember ever thanking God for the ability to walk prior to that New Year’s Eve; however, I have thanked Him many times since the middle of July, 2015.

I tore my Achilles tendon in a fall that New Year’s night.  The complete rupture of the tendon in June was followed by surgery.  Now, I thought, I can walk. 

However, soon my left ankle began to swell, and my left foot began to turn out.  Then I started to lose control of my feet and legs.  They hurt and I fell often and hard.  I had developed spinal stenosis.  During the surgery for that in March 2014, I threw a blood clot and almost died.  (I am convinced my Christian friends’ prayers saved my life.)  And after that surgery, I thought, soon I can walk. 

However, my left ankle and foot worsened to the point that I could hardly walk and more surgery was ahead.  This time I was afraid and very discouraged.  I was also embarrassed; I wondered if people thought I was not trying or perhaps not following the doctor’s orders.

The foot surgery recovery required that no weight be put on the left foot for two months and little weight for another two.  But when this is over, I thought, I can walk.

However, my right knee had already been diagnosed as having no cartilage.  Miraculously, it carried all the weight and stress for three and one half months.  Before I was out of the boot on my left foot, I was scheduled for surgery on my right knee!  This time, I thought, I am never going to walk again.

However, Harold said that giving up was not an option.  He had iced me down (often a 2:00 a.m.), loaded every walking contraption imaginable in and out of the car about 1,000 times, and done most of the housework for over three years.  The knee surgery – the 4^th surgery in three years was in May 2015.  And finally, I CAN WALK.  It isn’t always pretty or fast, but I am so grateful for it.

During my wilderness waiting time, I learned I did not always have to be the helper; I could let others help me.  I learned that staying home and being still would not kill me.  I learned that my family, my Christian family, and my friends are my greatest blessings.

I learned that I do not have to control everything (as if I could).  God’s wisdom, timing, and resources far exceed any of my problems.  Sometimes waiting is the perfect teacher.

—Marcia Oden

Light: The candle of PEACE

Read: Get ready!, JSB p. 170 (Nehemiah 8-10, Malachi 1, 3 and 4, Ezra 7)


Ask: Name a gift God has given you or someone in your family.

Describe your dream party.

Pray: Ask God to make you open to and ready for rescue.

Jesse Tree Ornament: Trumpet

Act: Throw a birthday party for Jesus. Decorate. Bake a cake. Sing. Invite your friends.

Make a grateful jar. Write down some of the things for which you’re thankful on slips of paper and put them in the jar. Whenever you have a rough day, pull out a slip (or two) to remind you of all things for which you can be grateful.