A few days after my surgery at Tampa General Hospital. Trying to keep a smile on my face through it all. “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” Nehemiah 8:9
Mending. One little word with so much meaning. Often in life we need mending—mending from a broken heart, mending from a physical injury, or mending from hurt feelings. When I looked up the meaning of the word “mending,” much of what came up referenced repairing clothing or garments. However, I did find a definition that fit: mending – the act of putting something in working order again. Several synonyms for the word are: refreshing, renewing, remodeling, restoring, rebuilding, and helping.
Last week I had my eleventh surgery since my near fatal motor vehicle accident in 2009. It was a total ankle fusion—the seventh surgery on my ankle, and the final attempt at salvaging my ankle before amputating. They also re-fused my subtalar joint which has been a nonunion since June of 2013 when the VA attempted to fuse it, but it failed to take. This has been the most difficult of the surgeries since my initial accident. My pain tolerance is pretty high for the most part, but it is by God’s strength alone that I have been able to get through this. Once again He is teaching me to be still and know that He is God. To TRUST in Him and lean not on my own understanding (because my own understanding doesn’t understand)!
Holding flowers from my wonderfully hubby while I was in the hospital.
I’m not sure what the future holds for me, but I am sure of who holds my future. He is the Master Mender. He takes us from the inside out and restores, refreshes, renews, rebuilds, and mends us. He loves to take that which is broken and mend it together into something strong and durable. The best part is that He uses His love as the thread. 🙂
What needs mending in your life? I encourage you to let the Master Mender minister to your spirit and begin a restoration in your heart.
Prayer starter: Lord, speak to me revealing areas in which I need mending. Help me to surrender those areas to you, allowing you to do a complete restoration in me. Only you know what I need.
The Wind, the Waves, and the Anchor 
You are such an inspiration, my friend! Your faith and testimony will touch many hearts! More than we can know. Wonderful writing during a challenging time…a post we should all be sharing as we give thanks to God for you and continue to lift you up in our daily prayers!
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Thank you so much Rick. Your kind words mean more than you know. Thanks so much for your prayers as well! They are greatly appreciated brother.
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It is beautiful and inspiring to see that, though your body is weak and in pain, your spirit and faith are strong. God is using you to minister to others in this time of recovery. Thank God for His strength and sustaining love 🙂 Love you Jen!
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Thanks mom. It’s amazing how that works. I believe the Bible talks about encouraging others as a means of building faith (or something like that). And that’s exactly how it works. If I’m feeling down and pray for and/or encourage someone, I am lifted up. My prayer is that others can see my faith, hear my
testimony, and ultimately draw closer to Papa God and enter into an intimate relationship with Him. Thank you for your kind words. 💗 Love you!
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I am praying for a total recovery and a perfectly new ankle. It’s good that you are taking the time and making the effort to let Him mend you. Can’t wait to see how He helps you progress. Thanks for blogging the process!
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Thank you so much for visiting my blog – Now that we have ‘met’, I can pray with you! My sister went through much of what you are experiencing, so I have a vague idea of how difficult and challenging it must be for you. I can personally testify to YHVH’s healing of a severe injury, but when I received another even more severe injury, Abba declined to heal it. Why? No idea!! 🙂 But through each experience, I learned to let Him be God, and to rejoice as He handled things His way and in His time. Looks like you are having that same experience. Praising Him with you!! I agree with WordasWorship – ‘Can’t wait to see how He helps you progress. Thanks for blogging the process!” ❤
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Awwww, thank you very much Sue. This has been a journey at best. I have learned to be ever so dependent on the Father, because really, that’s all I CAN do. However, it’s also all that I DESIRE to do. 🙂 Thank you for following me along this crazy thing called life as well as for your prayers! ❤
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