Nougat 7

Today’s Holy Nougat invites us to reflect and be thankful.

“You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭18‬:‭36‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Initially it was hard to think this through, probably because I’m not much of a full-time walker. So, I didn’t ‘get’ the wide path. Yet this nougat resonates with me precisely because of my experience with slipping.

Ever since my early teens I discovered that I have a knee condition that hasn’t been fully diagnosed. I propose that it’s rare since no three experts agreed on its genesis nor its treatment.

Initially I was ‘ballet-ballroom dancing’ after school and crumpled when my knee crumpled under me. Having rearranged the classroom for my impromptu dance session, when I fell nothing else was injured. But I remember the knee being so swollen that I had to be lifted into a taxi and driven home. The irony is, in less than 2 hours after getting home every thing, including the swelling, was back to normal.

The next time however, it wasn’t as simple. Two years later, I bumped into a stationary car and when I turned to say I was okay, I could not stand as my right knee had completely slipped out of the socket. Again, there was nothing else nearby (I was in a parking zone), and so the only issue was my knee. I tell you – you might have heard me howling when the knee was being slipped back in both at the nurse’s station (who was stopped from completing the task by my hollering, as they wondered whether it was fractured) and at the doctor’s, who was obliged to stretch then lock the knee back in place. Trust me when I tell you – the pain was excruciating! Subsequent years and re-injuries saw my knee partially slipping while crossing the road, walking around or pursuing a normal routine. Those times however, did not see me visiting the doctor, as it righted itself right there where I was.

I do recall however, that in every single one of those incidents I was never physically alone. While dancing, I was with a friend. Valentine’s day was with several others, as we were en route the cafeteria. And in each successive incident, the issue never manifested when I was alone or driving.

From where I sit (definitely not stand ), I believe that the other persons being present was my wide space. Can you just picture what could have happened if I was alone crossing the street? But God had my sisters with me. And friends. And strangers. And rides. And while my gait was impacted, I had no complications that injured other parts of my body. And that, my siblings in Christ, is a miracle! Only by God’s grace.

So what about you – when did you get taken on the wide path for your feet so you didn’t slip? Can you see God’s hand in the moment(s)? If so, let’s pause to give God thanks.

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May all we seek be found in Christ