CHAPTER 30

Paddle-Ski Pain

It was a sunny day on a beach near Mossel Bay, Western Cape. Practicing to balance my body on the paddle-ski in the shallow surf had me exhausted, yet pleased. Slogging the huge paddle-ski back to the car in the heat was far less exciting.

With some progress made, I switched shoulders. After steadying the large, cumbersome watercraft on my left shoulder, I continued my trek. All of a sudden the paddle-ski slammed down on my left shoulder when my left foot unexpectedly stepped into a hole in the uneven, loose beach sand. I had been so preoccupied with the burden on my shoulder, I didn’t watch my step (perhaps a spiritual lesson here?).

 As the hard shell of the large ski hit my shoulder, the day’s pleasure vanished. Hope upon hope… please, not internal, permanent injury.

Several days later, back home from our sea holiday, the pain in my shoulder remained exactly the same. My hopes were dashed. The injury was internal, but would it be permanent? It was time to take the matter to God.

While walking outside, I prayed for healing. After waiting on God for a moment, He spoke:

The healing will not be instant. It will take one year. Each time you feel your shoulder, come to Me and I will touch you. I desire you to come to Me for this.

I couldn’t help but smile. God desires my company through coming to Him for healing over the course of a year. A realization surfaced: Healing over a year is still healing! The injury would not be permanent, thank God! It also made me realize how I always hope for and expect instant healing. It was just as good to get something from God slowly, over time.

This all happened years ago. My shoulder took only a year to heal. Each time I felt shoulder pain, God enjoyed extra time and appreciation from me. There has been no hint of recurring pain or permanent damage to that shoulder. When I exercize, I use it normally with no issues at all.

People generally don’t classify non-instant healing as miraculous. I’m also guilty of not properly counting my blessings in order to honor God. Over the years I’ve learned to do reality checks of how bad things could have been without God’s divine intervention. It’s all too easy to become blasé about God’s repeated goodness, to the point that we no longer give thanks, no longer sing His praises, and refrain from telling others about what God has done. However, I have obeserved this truth: Each time we testify, God is glorified, and we boost the faith of others in no small measure. Even we become wonderfully refreshed in our own faith.