Any time one of my classmates would show up to school with an injury -- a broken bone, a black eye, stitches -- I can remember wishing it was me. That I was the one with a broken leg, the one who needed someone to carry my books, help me to recess, that I was the one wearing the cast that everyone wanted to sign.
I wasn't going to go out and purposely break my leg, however, so when time passed without any broken bones I had to come up with other ways of getting attention -- talking a lot, getting good grades, flirting with boys.
Fast forward to the year I turned 30 and I find myself with a broken rib and a sprained ankle after a 4-wheeling accident. I wasn't looking for attention at this point, just trying to have a good time with family and friends. But a couple of months after the accident I was still having issues, so I went to the hospital for a full body scan. They told me my rib had healed perfectly, and the lower body pain was not from the accident but due to arthritis, a result of the leg I broke as a child.
"I never broke my leg," I told the technician.
"The scans don't lie," she said.
Funny. All that time I thought my prayers had gone unanswered. But somewhere along the way I had gotten exactly what I'd wished for. I just hadn't looked deep enough to see it.
I wonder how often our prayers get answered and, for whatever reason, we don't realize it. Maybe they don't get answered the way we want them to, or in our timing. Maybe we're too busy to see what God has done and is doing in our lives.
Whatever we are praying for this Christmas -- reconciliation, joy, love, new life, work opportunities, good health -- may we take the time to slow down, to recognize God at work, and to believe that He always answers our prayers.
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