The quarterback trial and a miracle?
9/16/2009
After the last football game of the 2008 season, I got a call that my nephew, who is a quarterback for a university, had badly broken his right wrist. The doctor told him it looked pretty serious, so he probably wouldn't be able to throw a football again. As you can imagine, that is like a death sentence to a quarterback. However, what made the situation even more heart breaking is my nephew had been practicing intensely to be the starting quarterback for a few years and next year, his senior year, was going to be his time. Family and friends started praying, hoping that God in His love and mercy would make the wrist strong enough to throw at a collegiate level by spring practice.
Throughout the months there were many praises about the wrist but also many set backs. By spring his wrist was a lot better than expected. My nephew was interviewed by the paper and asked, “How did your wrist recover so quickly?” He said, “When you have half of Tucson praying, something was bound to happen.” But now the question was, was his wrist strong enough to beat out the other recruits for the starting quarterback position? My nephew didn’t have that question answered until right before football season started, when the coach picked him to start. Yet there was still some uncertainty left. Could he lead the team to a victory even though his arm still didn’t have its pre-accident strength? That question was answered amazingly by the team winning their first victory ever over the opponent they played. And my nephew won the most valuable player award.
Why did God allow my nephew to break his wrist? Was God being mean? No, God is love and never allows things to happen to us to be mean! Why did God allow such a hard trial for one of His children (my nephew)? It seems like the wrist injury was a parenthesis, since the outcome was the same. My nephew is the starter quarterback and is doing well at the job. So why did God allow this trial? None of us can put God in a box, so to definitely say, I know what God specifically had in mind would be presumption. Yet, I do know for sure, many people have been blessed through this trial by seeing God take a seemingly hopeless situation and make it perfect. Did God work a miracle on his wrist? Only He knows. God has also let my nephew and the rest of us see firsthand how He is working all things together – the losses as well as the victories – for our good.
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity... For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-4 (NLT)
Read Romans 8:28-39, Hebrews 12:1-11, and 1 John 4:7-19.
Because of His love and mercy, Gini