Article February 14, 2005 Issue

BACK TO THE BASKETS

Joana Fonseca Rivera

I WAS PLAYING BASKETBALL WITH MY FRIENDS IN physical education class at school. After I threw a pass, I came down on one foot, and I heard a very loud snap in my right ankle. When I realized I couldn't move it, I was frightened, and I asked a classmate to help me to a bench on the sidelines. I didn't feel any pain in my ankle at that time.

With the help of my friends, who carried my books and helped me around, I was able to attend the rest of my classes. But by the end of the day my ankle was very painful, and I could hardly walk. I prayed to God that I would be able to get home. A friend went with me, and when we got there, I told my mom what had happened. She began praying, too. My mom and I knew that even though my ankle didn't look good, the spiritual fact was that God is perfect and I was His daughter, and that His perfection was reflected in me.

When my dad got home, the pain was intense, and I couldn't walk at all. That evening my parents took me to a hospital to get X-rays, which showed I had broken my ankle. My leg was put in a cast right up to my knee. The doctor told me I should rest in bed for at least a month, and he asked me to come back in three weeks for a checkup. I remember thinking about this sentence in Science and Health: "Under divine Providence there can be no accidents, since there is no room for imperfection in perfection" (p. 424). My parents and I knew that God does not let accidents happen, or cause them, and that He created me perfect and maintained me that way.