A healing during lockdown
It seemed like a normal night of shooting hoops in the driveway. I had been watching this one guy on the internet and wanted to try one of his trick shots. It involved passing the ball through the legs while doing a 180, and finishing the shot backward. I tried and tried but wasn’t able to get the shot down. I went up again to try the layup, but when I came down, my left foot landed awkwardly on the edge of the driveway. I fell to the ground in pain.
Somehow, I managed to haul myself up and hop into the house. The second I got inside, I collapsed on the floor while calling for my parents. With their help, I was able to reach the couch and lie down.
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I couldn’t seem to stop feeling frustrated and disappointed.
Prayer has always helped me out during difficult situations, so I knew I wanted to pray about the injury. My mom called a Christian Science practitioner to pray with us, then she gathered some copies of the Christian Science Sentinel for me to read. The Sentinel is full of healing ideas as well as testimonies by people who have had their own healings by understanding more about God. So I began reading, looking for an idea that might help me with my prayers.
I read lots and lots of testimonies, but I didn’t feel like any of them really applied to my situation. Also, I couldn’t seem to stop feeling frustrated and disappointed. All these thoughts were going through my head, like, “Why would this happen to me?” Basketball and being active were the only things I could do during lockdown. And now there would be nothing to do, because I couldn’t even walk.
I kept reading, though, until finally I read something that struck me. It was an article by a woman who had bought a new car with her husband, but they had only one key. She kept telling him to get a spare key, but he kept ignoring her advice. When he ended up losing the key, the woman started to criticize her husband. But then she realized that self-righteousness does not bring healing. She couldn’t hear God’s guidance when she was criticizing.
After reading that article, it dawned on me that I had been complaining nonstop from the moment I hurt my ankle. With all that complaining, how was I going to hear a healing idea from God? I knew God was always speaking to me. God is good, so the thoughts that come from Him are always good and bring peace and healing. All I needed to do was stop listening to the frustrated, disappointed thoughts and instead tune in to what God was saying.
I stuck with this idea for the next several days. Whenever I felt like complaining about my ankle, I reminded myself that complaining was just getting in the way of me hearing God’s messages. And I also used those moments to try to listen to God instead. When I did listen, I could hear God reassuring me that He had a path forward for me and that I could trust Him. As I tuned in more and more to those good messages, the frustration and all the negative thoughts faded away.
All I needed to do was stop listening to the frustrated, disappointed thoughts and instead tune in to what God was saying.
Just three days later, I was able to walk perfectly and was even out on the basketball court again, running around and shooting hoops.
I am extremely grateful for this experience and for my new understanding of how to listen to God more effectively.