The mother was distraught when she walked into my office. She carried a heavy burden for her youngest daughter. Not because the daughter is lost or in rebellion against God. No. She is burdened because her daughter is an elite athlete at 14. I know some parents think that their child is good, even if the truth is they are average at best. This girl is elite. A rising star. An injury required her to stop competing and have corrective surgery. I watched that young girl each step of the journey. Her attitude is stupendous. She is a girl after God's own heart.
She has patiently rehabbed for months and was just starting to get back into preparing to compete again. She began having pains in her hip which was surgically prepared. She went back to the surgeon. The news was not what anyone wanted to hear. There appears to be internal damage which could potentially require another and more extensive surgery.
The distraught mother told me, "I either snatch her dream away, have her compete with the pain for the next six years, or have the other surgery which will put her even further behind." I knew exactly how she felt as five times I sat with my sons in doctor's offices hearing the news that surgery was required to fix knee issues. I watched my sons tear up. I watched their dreams snatched away from them. It seemed cruel. I still do not understand it for my boys anymore than I understand it for this 14 year old phenom.
When she told me about the options, I mentioned that there was another one. We can ask God for a miracle healing. That is exactly what we did over her daughter in Bible class today. We asked God for a miracle boldly. Not wishfully thinking. We prayed with fervent faith. It is in God's hands.
I know all too well that there is life after sports. Bodies break down. I feel it in my knee, hip, and shoulder joints all the time. I love sports, but sports can take a massive toll on the body. If you have ever had a dream snatched away, you know the pain that causes. It brings grief. You mourn the death of a dream much like you mourn the death of a person you love.
What then? I read about a guy today who suffered the death of a dream. He was devastated. He wrote in hindsight how many valuable lessons he learned from that experience. I too have suffered the death of some dreams. They were crushed to powder sifting through my fingers until I had nothing left. It was heart wrenching. I still carry the grief of one of those in particular. I am not fully whole after that dream was savagely snatched from me.
Here is the truth. Do we love our dreams more or the God of our dreams more? If we love God more, sure we grieve the loss of dreams, but we stand on the firm foundation of God. We are able to press through the pain onto the path of healing and God's redemptive purposes.
I have watched this young elite lady for the past nine months looking for cracks in her faith, an angry attitude, a bitter belief that God failed her. I did the same thing today watching her. She appears to be solid. So did my sons outwardly. I did not learn for years the private mental, spiritual, and emotional battles they fought. They kept those things private. They put on a brave act. Is this girl doing the same, or is she of such solid character and so in love with the Lord that still stands strong in suffering.
Paul wrote some very tough words in [Phil 3:7-8]. He wrote that the things that were gain for him he counted them as loss. How and why did He do this? He did it for the sake of Christ. Paul put all the things that he counted as gains in his life on an imaginary scale and the surpassing value of knowing Jesus on the other side of the scale. He wrote that there was no comparison. Jesus won out every time. Paul considered his gains as refuse in comparison to knowing Jesus. That is much easier to write and say than to live.
When Jesus is our gain, we can endure other losses. Loss of loved ones. Loss of jobs. Loss of financial security. Loss of health. EVEN THE LOSS OF DREAMS. Are God and Jesus enough when our dreams get snatched away. I found out the hard way that they were not in my life a few decades ago. Today it is a different story.
I am asking God to heal that young lady. I am trusting God not to snatch her dream away. I am praying with all that is in me pleading with God for miracle for His glory. He is a dream giver. He is also a dream taker sometimes. Only, He does not take a dream without leaving a different one. A better one. God does not waste pain. He uses it for His purposes. My son's injuries helped me have great empathy for this mother. I could identify with what she is going through. We entrust her daughter into the loving hands of a Heavenly Father who can do immeasurably more than we can think or think. [Eph 3:20]. That is where I leave it. In His capable hands and wise mind.
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