Josiah’s Journey
An Article from the 9/7/16 Weekly Update by Cheri Keller
I’ve already produced a five-page version of the story of Josiah and his broken ankle. It is my journal and testament to the goodness of our great God, His omniscience and omnipotence, and His watch-care in details that go back even 10-12 years ago. I will try to give you just a few highlights here without all those details!
After Josiah broke his ankle less than two weeks before he was scheduled to head to West Chester University (WCU) for his freshman year, we really didn’t know if it was going to work. The initial consult with the surgeon did not give much hope, and for a few days we were in a quandary as to how to proceed. We did our part to try to find out our options with WCU, with a lot of unknowns on our end. For a while we were getting punted from one department to another. They were nice people and sympathetic, but they didn’t seem to know how to deal with our situation. We seriously began to wonder if God was giving us the “no” sign. Finally, we found “Linda,” and things got rolling from there.
Friday, September 2, is the day about which I really want to share. This was to be the make-or-break day for a decision about Josiah’s first semester. Because his recuperation from surgery had progressed very well, from our laymen’s point of view; and because things had fallen into place with WCU, we headed to Josiah’s post-op appointment with a van loaded and ready to go to school if the doctor gave his blessing. We really didn’t know what he would say since our first encounters with him had been less than encouraging.
Josiah’s splint and wrapping were removed to reveal two longer-than-expected (at least we didn’t know they were so long!) incisions that had healed very well. He was fitted with a boot, given permission to shower (yay!), encouraged to flex his foot to gain strength and maneuverability, and prescribed a knee scooter. When we popped the big question about school, the doctor said, “I don’t see why not.” We all constrained ourselves from shouting out, but we were screaming loud and clear on the inside!
Time forbids me from sharing everything that happened in detail, but let me list a few ways God was evident to us this day. The weather was perfect (not oppressive, and not raining); at WCU we “randomly” met a lady who looked at us and said, “You must be Josiah;” Josiah began seeing several familiar faces from his band and indoor color guard connections; he avoided long lines for things like an ID card, being “late” to school; the scooter is so much more easily handled than a wheelchair; a cart was available to transport Josiah’s belongings from the car to his room, saving much time; a parking spot opened up at just the right time; many people were helpful with holding doors and giving instruction; Josiah had a long weekend to get settled in; most of his professors have already been helpful; his roommate went home for the weekend, so Josiah can make that trickier adjustment after a little bit of breathing room.
Sure, Josiah has many challenges ahead of him, but would this faithful God let him down now? I don’t think so.
I read these words from Sarah Young in Jesus Calling after we got home Friday evening. These are Jesus’ words as interpreted by a human being, and they were particularly my experience: “When you depend on Me continually, your whole perspective changes. You see miracles happening all around, while others see only natural occurrences and ‘coincidences.’ You begin each day with joyful expectation, watching to see what I will do. You accept weakness as a gift from Me, knowing that My power plugs in most readily to consecrated weakness.”
