3.5 years ago, in August 2016, I sustained a pretty rough fall while bouldering (bouldering is rock-climbing without any harness or ropes). I fell from only about 10 or 15 feet, but all my weight fell straight on my right ankle and as it twisted back and forth I heard some pops and snaps in it.. and this is where it all began.
After two weeks of resting it and noticing it was getting exponentially worse, I decided to see a few doctors.They only did x-rays and said it looked fine and that it was just a severe sprain. After a few months of declined healing in it, I found myself at a surgeons office. He goes “WOAH! how have you possibly managed to live with this injury for so long!” He then scheduled me for a full ankle reconstruction surgery.
Now keep in mind, from the moment I saw this first doctor, I was praying for a supernatural healing miracle from Jesus so he could get glory for it. Well the time comes for surgery and the doctor told me after wards that the injury was even worse than what he saw on the MRI. He put my on bedrest for 10 days, then had a line up of other items to use post -surgery. In which recovery lasted abut 4 months before I could even try to weight bear again.
A year later, I went to have my year check up, and we were both disappointed that the surgery hadn’t done all we needed it to do, and realized I needed a second surgery. What’s crazy is that there was a lapse in my insurance the day before, so I wasn’t able to get the surgery. My insurance didn’t even come back until after I had left for the World Race, so I thought to myself “If there was no way to get natural healing through medicine without insurance, God must want to supernaturally heal it on the world race!” I learned some pretty important lessons while walking through this season on the race waiting for my miracle. The most prominent one to me was when God told showed me that if I don’t get the supernatural healing, then it’s because he wants me at the doctor to share His love with and his powerful gospel with someone I would never get the chance to meet otherwise.
I prayed during the whole race, so did my teammates and other family members at home, to see this miracle. I was living in constant pain- although I got so used to it being there that I forgot what life was like before this pain. I didn’t have full range of motion, and there was a swelling in my ankle that never went away, but I never let this stop me from praising Jesus. I still jumped and danced and worshipped the Lord because if he could bear the cross for me, then I could bear this ankle pain (I just put basically all my weight in my other leg lol.) But, unfortunately supernatural healing on the race wasn’t the case. I got home from the world race just to find out I still needed the surgery. I keep waiting a praying for a supernatural healing miracle for another 6 months. I even went to one of my mentors and ask “How do I know if this is a mountain I’m supposed to keep believing for a miracle, or just a closed door from God?” He said to simply ask God for a timeline to keep pressing into- and if the time comes and the supernatural healing hadn’t yet come, then I would know surgery was the route God was taking me on.
The date God gave me was New Years, and I still had yet to see the miracle. 3.5 years later and I still struggled with this ankle of mine. I ended up going to the doctor who then scheduled me for surgery. He gave me a pretty challenging diagnosis saying that this surgery he was going to perform wouldn’t necessarily bring the full healing I needed. He also said that my condition isn’t even incurable but it’s expected to get even worse as I got older, but he said if I was his own daughter he would advise me to do it ( keep in mind, this is a doctor diagnosis said, but that does not line up with what my Jesus- the greatest Physician of all time- who made me in the first place, who gives full healing! so I’m believing this will work and that a third surgery isn’t even an option!)
I kept praying even up til the last minute for a miracle, right before they put me under with anesthesia. Two nights before, God reminded me of what he told me almost a year earlier regarding my ankle- that he was going to encounter people through me who I wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to meet- and this time, he told me it was going to be while I was still anesthesia, so he would get full glory for it and just using me as his vessel. Amazingly, the night before I had a crazy encounter with Holy Spirit who just completely overcame me and filled me up.
Before I was even put under, I fell asleep praying that Holy Spirit wouldn’t be confined to my body so that he could do whatever he wanted to do in a way only he could do.
…Then it happened, while I was still under anesthesia , the Holy Spirit through me started preaching the gospel to my nurse! As I was coming to, I felt like I was a third person just listening to these other two people talk about Jesus until I realized IT WAS COMING THROUGH ME! It was the most beautiful, clearly stated gosple I had ever heard, something I could never get credit for because I tend to get so excited sharing the gospel with others that I tend to stumble across my words and not fully make the most sense (thankfully God is in control and he knows how to make the right words hit home in others even when I mess up). I started to hear Holy Spirit, even while my eyes were still shut- still coming to post anesthesia- tell the nurse words of knowledge about her son and other prophetic words for her, it blew me away! She talked about how she grew up in church, but walked away in her adult life. As I was coming to, Holy Spirit prompted me to tell my testimony and explain to her how much he loved her.
Other nurses started coming around and asking questions and talking to me, it was astonishing how the Holy Spirit’s power was like a magnet attracting people to my bedside to hear more of what he has to say!
I got to pray with her before I was discharged, and she left with tears in her eyes feeling the touch and love of God.
I’m so overwhelmed by the power Holy Spirit displayed and the love that just poured out over the nurses in that recovery room. THANK YOU JESUS!
Lori, I can’t wait to see you again in Heaven one day! Jesus was so evidently chasing you down and I’d go through this injury again and again if it means more people will join us in heaven! Not receiving a supernatural healing the way I wanted was totally worth it because God knows best- he always does!
