Before joining the Army, I decided to run a marathon. I had the physical build of a long-distance runner and was confident that I could prepare myself by sticking determinedly to a self-imposed training programme. Four months later, I had become extremely fit, running 50 miles a week on roads and absolutely hooked on the resultant endorphin highs. As a result, I foolishly ignored all the warning signs of overtraining; I began running on the camber of the road to relieve the pain in my left leg and stuck rigidly to my training programme, despite developing acute backache.
One evening when I was out on yet another 15-mile run, I suddenly developed sharp pains in my knees, which forced me to stop running completely. Frustratingly, none of the doctors or physiotherapists that I saw were able to give a clear diagnosis of the problem and I was sent away with nothing better than Ibuprofen, Tubigrip and the advice to ‘stop running’, which was the last thing I wanted to do. The sudden absence of endorphins and the realisation that this might be a serious injury which could prevent me from joining the Army, brought me literally to my knees and I asked God in desperation to help me out of the mess that I had made.
My Dad then suggested that I speak to Mark, a member of our church who prayed for people. After the Sunday service, I approached this man, who turned out to be a police unarmed combat instructor, as well as a Christian. He told me to sit down on a chair and hold out my legs in front of me. For the first time, I noticed that my left leg was a full inch longer than my right! This explained why I had been compensating by running on the camber of the road and also the knock-on effect on my back.
I instinctively closed my eyes before he started praying. Mark told me instead to keep my eyes open and to watch my legs closely as he was going to pray for the right one to grow out to the same length as the left! With a very simple prayer, Mark commanded my right leg to grow in the name of Jesus and (I kid you not) my right leg grew a full inch before my eyes in about five seconds. Amazed and delighted, I thanked Mark and went home to tell Dad, praising God.
Looking back, I realise that God used this situation to disciple me as a young Christian. All my misplaced arrogance was blown away by this sudden injury, forcing me to place my whole future into God’s hands. I had to turn away from doing things my way before He was able to make something of me, but in His way. Ultimately, none of our abilities and strengths are of any use unless they are submitted to God’s control.
*Photo credit: https://www.pexels.com/@caique-araujo-101156227