God and a Girl

The child lay on her bedroom floor shaking and terrified. She didn’t know what to do; all she knew was that once more she had fallen. Laura had been crippled since birth and now, at 15 years old all she wanted in the world was to be able to walk. She had lifted herself from her wheelchair for the umpteenth time that week unsuccessfully, and she once again battled that same painful discouragement.
“Why Father!?” She cried out to the Lord, “All my friends are ahead of me in so many ways and here I am stuck! They run and I sit! They dance and I sit! They stand and I sit! I’ve been waiting all my life to be healed and still…and still…” She wept bitterly.
Honestly Laura didn’t have friends, well, not real friends, she knew some people but they wouldn’t come over to her house or invite her to theirs, they would sit with her at lunch at school but they didn’t have the patience to walk at her pace.
Laura had battled this loneliness all of her life, some days were worse than others, but this day was the worst. Her mother, who had always been the one to take care of her had had a gotten in a car accident a week before and was in the hospital still in critical condition. Laura’s father had left when she was very young and she often blamed her crippled legs for that. So today, it was just Laura, and God; God and a girl.
Laura had come to the Lord only a year before this time and had ended up leading her mother to the Lord six months later, she loved everything about church, she loved to sing and to raise her hands in worship. She loved to whisper “Lord I trust you.” But something in her heart yearned to dance, to be like David who said “I’ll become even more undignified than this!” When his wife scoffed at his dancing before the Lord. Laura knew the Bible inside and out. She spent all her free time just praying and singing and studying her Bible.
But now, with this, Laura just felt so helpless. “Oh God, I’m sorry, I’m just so alone here, and it hurts to fall so many times, it hurts everywhere. But I know that you’re gonna heal my Mom, and I know that you’ll heal me too and make me able to walk. I trust you God, I really do trust you, only help me to trust you more!”
This time Laura didn’t pull herself back into the wheelchair, she simply lay on the ground, at the lowest point in her life, just hanging on to the hope that had once brought her to the Lord, the hope that this God was who He said He was, that He was a Healer, and that He was good.
“Laura!” Her head jerked, she must’ve fallen asleep! “Who is it?” She asked still on the floor, “It your Father.” Laura wiggled her finger in her ear, “Who is it?” she asked again not sure she’d heard right. “It’s me, your Father.” Said the voice again. “No, you aren’t, you can’t be! What are you doing here?” “I heard you calling. I heard your cries, I saw your tears. I know you’ve been trying all week to walk, it’s not going so well for you, is it?”
By now Laura’s mind was reeling, she couldn’t see him, but she could hear his voice, still it didn’t sound like her father, yet it did sound so familiar. “What’s your name?” She asked; to test this one who called himself her father. “That’s not so important right now, my dear. What matters to me right now is you! Are you ready to walk?” Suddenly it hit Laura like a lightening bolt, “You’re the Lord!” She cried in surprise. She heard a chuckle, “You called!” He answered.
“I know but, since when do you come? Since when do I hear you? I’ve spent a year talking to you but you never talk back!”
“Oh Laura, all this time I’ve been talking to you, but you don’t listen.” It was the kindest correction that she had ever heard.
“I’m sorry.” She said, “I know.” He said.
A thought occurred to her, “Why do I hear you now?” “Because it’s time.” Laura was puzzled, “time for what?” “Time to show you just how much I really love you.” Laura was even more puzzled, “God-” “I like it when you call me Father, or even Daddy.” “Uh, Daddy, why am I like this? Why am I on the ground unable to get up and all my friends are able to run? Why am I the one who was born like this if you really love me?” “Oh Laura, it’s not about why, it’s about what; what am I trying to teach you? What is really going on? What can you allow this to develop in you? What can you learn in any situation, and you are learning, you are learning to trust me.”
“I’m trying!” Tears came to Laura’s eyes as she thought about how many times she’d forced herself, in her loneliness and her pain to say those simple words, ‘I trust you’.
“Don’t try anymore Laura, are you ready to walk?”
“Of course I’m ready to walk, Father! Oh, you really are good!”
“Walk on my legs my daughter.”
Laura woke up, her disappointment was very real when she found herself sitting in her wheelchair, she looked at her legs and they looked the same. With a wail of anguish Laura realized it had all been a dream; what was she thinking?! “You’ll never walk!” She heard her mouth say “You’ll always be sitting in this wheelchair; you’ll probably walk down the isle in it! If you ever get married, which isn’t likely…” She cried hard now and did not stop for a while; all she could think of was her constant companion, that wretched wheelchair. But wait!
Laura sat up, “How did I get back in my wheelchair?” Her heart began to beat fast, did she dare hope again? What if she fell again? But what if she didn’t?
Once more Laura carefully placed her hands on the handles of her chair “Walk on my legs my daughter.” His words returned to her and she offered up a simple prayer “Daddy, I trust you, you are a Healer, you are good. I’m walking on your legs from now on.” And up from the wheelchair she arose. And a marvelous wonderful thing happened that day, Laura took two tiny steps before she fell, but this time it was not with discouragement but with great joy that she found herself on the floor again, for Laura knew that she was healed!
It took the rest of the day for Laura’s legs to get used to walking, and imagine the surprise when the kindly neighbor came to the door to give her some food for dinner. Laura simply threw her head back and laughed “I have new legs!” She explained with joy.
The next day she went to the hospital to visit her mother and tell her how the Lord had healed her. The doctors told Laura that though her mother couldn’t talk she could hear her and recognize her, and even understand what she was saying, it just wouldn’t look like she could.
But as Laura shared the amazing story with her mother another miracle happened; her mother began to laugh! This was only the beginning of another long healing process.
And this is how Laura came to know that the Lord is who He says He is and He is a Healer and He is good. Laura went on to take dance lessons and never stopped dancing before the Lord in worship. Certainly things weren’t always perfect, but Laura learned to say in every situation “I trust you.”
This is the story of God and a girl, and this could be your story too; for we are all crippled in some way and we have all fallen before, but when we learn what it is to walk with His legs we’ll then learn what it means trust. And when we ask what instead of why, we often will discover both. So know that He loves you and know that He cares, who knows when your turn will come to see how much He really loves you.