Its a simple faith, 3 minute reminders…

Tonight as a family we were all hanging in the bonus room of our home, enjoying a simple time together.  Justus and I had played some basketball at the gym earlier, and quite frankly he smelled like a  boy.  So I directed him off to the shower and went back to the rest of us playing in the bonus room.  A little while later, as Justus finished his shower, we heard a small “crash” and then Justus cry for help, Jess made it to his room first, I was with Corina.However Justus kept screaming, so i gave Nate quick instructions how to stay with Coco, and as i raced down our hall way, Jess began to yell for me as well.  Justus had opened up his large dresser in his room in such a way, that it fell on him, and onto the lower half of his right leg. As I entered into his room, the dresser was still there on top of his leg. Its about 50-60 pounds and Jess had just started to work to get it off of him.I grabbed the dresser and threw it off of him, saw his right leg and instructed Jess to leave to get Coco as i assessed the situation.  His right leg was out of joint at the knee for sure. Unfortunately, this is not the first time in my life i had seen a leg that was popped out of joint.  I looked in Justus’ eyes, he was scared. I asked him to show me where it hurt, and if he could move it.  Through tears he touched his right knee on the outside, and no he could not bend it. Now i was scared.He kept apologizing over and over again, “i am sorry daddy, i am sorry, i did not mean for it to fall on my leg.”  I looked him in the eye, loved him with my words, and reassured him, he was going to be ok.  I then took a look at the leg again, and it was crooked bad.  I explained to him what it mean to have a leg out of joint, and that we were going to need to go to the hospital.  This freaked him out, but again, we worked through what that meant through tears and hugs.

I immediately called the local non-emergency number, explained to them that this dresser had fallen on my son’s leg, and it was out of socket.  I asked them to tell me if i should call an ambulance or not.  The person on the other line, explained they could not make that recommendation, that was up to me.  Not satisfied with that answer i hung up on them and i called a friend who was a doctor.  Richard understood quickly my concerns of moving Justus and explained to me, how to do it so that i could protect his leg while taking him to the hospital.

Slowly, through much pain, Justus and I worked to get him dressed in some shorts and a tshirt.  Then just before i was going to pick him up, i looked in his eyes one more time.  I moved in close and held him as tight as i could with my hand gently on his leg and prayed a very short prayer, “God please protect my son’s leg as i move him, and please heal him in Jesus name.”  As i moved away to position myself to pick him up. Justus immediately looked at me with this dazed stare, “um daddy”, yeah buddy i replied. “I don’t know how but i can move my leg” he said.  Sure enough i looked at it again, and something was hugely different, almost like his leg was straight.  I asked him, are you sure, he said “yeah it feels totally different.”

And then without command, he bent his knee, no issues.  I screamed for Jess in such a frantic voice, she came running from the other room. Later she told me she figured i either had found more damage, or something else had happened. She was on the phone with a friend, who was headed our way to care for the babies as i was going to head to the hospital.  As she came in, i was weeping all over my son.  God who is able to exceedingly and abundantly more than i ask had popped his leg back in place.

Jess looked at if a few times, and told her friend, “um, i don’t need you now and will call you back.”

You have to understand this all happened in like 3 minutes.  It was crazy. I asked Justus to walk with his mom around the house to be sure.  And “thanks be to God!”it was and is. I called Richard back and explained to him what had happened, he celebrated with us, and then confirmed my thought of icing it and getting Justus some tylenol for the pain just in case.

As Jess and i put the boys down tonight for bed, we were reflecting on that 3 minutes. And i recounted my time of prayer with Justus.  To be really honest, i did not pray with expectation of a supernatural healing of his leg right there and then.  I just prayed with trust knowing that God can do anything, and that i am to ask. So my prayer was short and simple. And God showed up in a way that even surprised me.

Tonight was a reminder, that even in the midst of what is a scary moment of life, our faith is a simple one. “Trust me”, says the Father. “All your cares, cast them on me.  Not in majestic new-religious terms.  Honestly, authentically, simply trust me.”

I pray that our testimony will be a simple reminder to you as well, that God is not absent. He is not only fully alive, He is fully present. He is calling all of us to a simple faith, in everything “Trust Him.” Thanks for celebrating with us God’s hand on our family.