The Brace and the Blessing

L

inda and I are blessed to be the parents of three healthy happy children.  Words cannot capture my feelings of joy and gratitude when I saw Elizabeth, then Joshua, then Andrew for the first time and saw that they were whole and well.  Some weeks after Joshua's birth, however, we discovered a problem with his feet.  Joshua's feet were not straight--they were turned in rather badly.  We were troubled by what this could mean to his future, not wanting anything to impede his walk. 

     At the advice of our pediatrician, we waited a couple of months to see if the problem would correct itself, but it did not.  We then sought the help of an orthopedic specialist.  After a thorough examination, he gave us some good news; Joshua's walk could be straightened out.  Then came the bad news--this change would not come that day in the doctor's office.  His walk could not be straightened with a pill or even a shot.  Joshua's walk would be straightened only through weeks of stretc­hing exercises, several sets of casts, orthopedic shoes, and several months of sleeping in shoes bolted to a brace.  

During those weeks and months of treatment, especially on those nights when I bolted that brace on to those little shoes on those little feet, I felt both the promise of blessing my son's life and the pain of burdening his life.  Sometimes the pain felt stronger than the promise.  I asked myself more than once, "Will this brace make enough difference to be worth the bother?"

     Months passed and Joshua no longer needed to wear his brace.  Those shortened naps and restless nights were over.  As I look back upon the cost and benefit of that brace, I can answer my question with a new perspective. "Was the brace worth the trou­ble?  Just look at the difference it made in his walk!"

     Many of us have mixed feelings when we hear the call to grow in Christ through a personal devotional life.  We see that our walk is not what it could or should be.  We do not want to fall short of what God has created us to be.  We are excited to hear the good news that our walk can be straight­ened, our lives can be changed for the better, we can fulfill the purpose for which God has given us life.  But then comes the bad news.  Our walk is not straightened out with one prayer or one trip to the altar.  Our walk is not even corrected by a weekly appearance at a house of worship.  Our walk is only straightened out by a long process--a costly commit­ment to a lifestyle of study, reflection and appli­cation of God's Word.  As we undertake this kind of life, we feel both the promise of a better life and the demand of the process of attaining it.  We ask ourselves, "Will this ‘brace’ of my spiritual walk make enough difference to be worth the work?"

     I still have Joshua's orthopedic brace.  He doesn't use it anymore, but I do.  The excuse I give Linda for not throwing it away is that I can, with Joshua's permission, use it as an object lesson for a children's sermon.  But mostly, I keep it as a reminder of the cost and the reward of a life of discipleship.  I keep it to remind me that if I really want to straighten out my crooked walk, I must do for myself what I did for Joshua.  I must stretch my mind through study.  I must live in an orthopedic attitude of prayer--an attitude which will constantly bend my thoughts and feelings in a God-ward direction.  And I must strap on the brace of God's Word which will align my heart with the heart of God.  No, I'll never throw that little brace away.  Why not?  Because every time I saw Joshua perform with his school’s jump-rope team or fast-break down the basketball court or round third base on his way to home, or take a walk with dad, and remember the price he paid to straighten out his feet for those feats, I learned a great lesson all over again.  The promise is worth the pain.  The reward is worth the regimen.  The blessing is worth the brace.    

This story is taken from my new book, Led By a Child: Truths My Children Have Taught Me About God. Click here to learn more. 

The Power of Asking

 This story is an excerpt from my new book, Led By a Child: Truths My Children Taught Me About God. The book is available in paperback, hardback, and e-book formats at Amazon.  

T

he Vaughan family, Dee, Linda, and three-year-old Elizabeth, attended a wedding rehearsal dinner for Eddie and Kim. After the meal, the tearful speeches and corny jokes, the bride and groom began distributing gifts to their wedding party. Elizabeth watched this with great interest and asked, “What are they doing, daddy?”  I explained, as best I could, that Eddie and Kim wanted to thank the people who would help them with their wedding the next day by giving them a gift. She pondered my answer but, apparently, didn’t find it totally satisfying.

     Nearing Elizabeth’s bedtime, Linda and I, with Elizabeth in my arms, made our way to the head table to thank the groom’s family for the wonderful meal and to tell the young couple that we’d see them the next day. Kim, who adored little Elizabeth, told her that she was very glad she could come to her rehearsal dinner. Elizabeth, still in my arms, leaned toward the bride as though she needed to whisper a secret to her. Though their faces were indeed close, my daughter didn’t whisper and what she said was anything but a secret. Elizabeth told the bride, “Sometimes little children like to get presents, too.”  I pulled Elizabeth back as though she’d tried to bite the bride and apologized for her comment. Kim laughed at Elizabeth’s words and didn’t forget them. The next morning, the day of her wedding, Kim showed up at our back door with a wrapped gift for Elizabeth.

     Jesus encouraged those who follow Him to ask for what we believe we need. 

     “Ask and it will be given to you:  seek and you will find; knock and the door will be     opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to        the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).  

     Children are often bold to ask, as my daughter was at the rehearsal dinner.  They may not have mastered every nuance of social etiquette, but they do have confidence to ask the grownups in their lives for what they need (and want).  Sadly, as many of us grow up, we lose our willingness to ask.  And in our silence our needs often go unmet.  May we reclaim the boldness that knows that asking one who loves you is a powerful way to change life for the better.