If I’d known beforehand what a single piece of apple pie was going to cost me, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought.
I was living temporarily with my daughter and son-in-law at the time, in the fall of 2019. After dinner one evening, I decided to have the last piece of homemade apple pie sitting on the kitchen counter. My plan was to enjoy it after returning from the washroom, however, that plan quickly flew out the window. Distracted by the treat I was about to have, I managed to trip over my own two feet in the doorway. Feeling myself falling, I frantically grabbed at the shower curtain to save myself (a brilliant idea,) only to have it come crashing down on my head, bar and all. Then, I proceeded to execute a move I thought completely impossible at my age; I expertly flipped myself completely around in one fluid motion to face the opposite way. This would have been quite impressive had I not slammed my back into the porcelain tub behind me. Sitting on the granite floor, unable to catch my breath, I heard the strangest sound coming from somewhere. Finally, I realized it was coming from me, a cry like that of a wounded animal. “Mom, is that you?” my daughter called out, quickly coming to see what had happened.
After a very long, sleepless night, Nancy took me to the hospital the next morning. “Well”, the Emerg. doctor said after reading my x-rays, “You’ve done quite a number on yourself. Two of your ribs are broken and they’re going to take a long time to heal. You’ll be in a great deal of pain so get this prescription filled and don’t do anything except rest. You should notice an improvement in four to six weeks.” I knew that getting people praying for me was even more important than the doctor’s orders and before we home, people from near and far had already started praying for me.
That first week can only be described in one word: miserable. I spent most of it in the one comfortable position I could find in bed where listening to music on my phone, taking painkillers every four hours, and sleeping became my new norm. But, I also began leaning into God like never before, trusting Him to bring good out of this difficult and unexpected situation. I recently discovered this beautiful translation of Psalm 16:8 in the Passion Translation: “Because You are close to me and always available, my confidence will never be shaken for I experience Your wrap-around Presence every moment.” As I rested in His love for me, hour
after hour, day after day, I could actually feel His Presence wrapping around me, reassuring me that He was with me. What a comfort to know that He was there in the very midst of my trouble.
The second week was only slightly better and I spent the majority of it the same way, confined in bed, worshipping to my favourite songs. As much as my body needed rest, I knew that my spirit needed to be reminded of the goodness of God, of His great love for me, and of the fact that no matter how I felt, He was still in control. Yes, I felt isolated, discouraged, and sometimes lonely but there was still so much to thank Him for, so much of His nature to mediate on, so many aspects of His character to ponder that I often fell asleep while thinking about them.
It was sometime near the end of that week that I heard a song called, “As It Is In Heaven” by Hillsong Worship. It was new to me but I could feel a powerful anointing on it as it was sung. As I began to worship, I became aware of God’s tangible Presence surrounding me and the more I worshipped, the stronger it became until I felt myself being lifted up into the heavenly realms, free from all that constrained me. Oh, what a glorious, indescribable feeling! It wasn’t until later that I realized my ribs had been totally healed during this incredible experience. When before just moving from one position to another in bed had been excruciating, I now found I could move around easily with no pain. The next day, I was out of bed and doing things I hadn’t been able to do in over two weeks.
I’m still amazed by the way entering into such deep worship released His healing touch and lately, it’s caused me to wonder: is it possible for us to worship our way through this pandemic, to be lifted up into those spiritual places where we are seated with Christ? Can this time of isolation, fear, and anxiety about the future be transformed into something we’ve never known before? Instead of worrying and allowing fear to creep into our spirits, can making the daily choice to dwell on His incredible goodness, His loving- kindness, and great mercy actually transform us? Would we be filled with such anticipation for the miracles God is about to do across our world that it can’t help but overflow to others who have no hope?
Yes, it is possible because all things are possible with our great God who is above all other gods and Who reigns victorious over all the earth!