HOUSE OF MIRACLES…Part Two
I am so glad you joined me for part two of my “House of Miracles.” As you may have gathered in part one, an unexpected intruder had entered our lives in the form of an unknown illness, and the situation climaxed as we began our new home. Yet God was still at work.
Please join me for
The rest of the story of my
House of Miracles
As the time came for the house to be built we were so thankful it was predominately a one level home, but never could we have predicted all of the problems we were facing. However, what we hadn’t anticipated was remedied by those working around us. It seemed as if each time we stopped by to see the construction on the house we would find one more thing the builder had done to make this home work for us. Requirements that we never could have anticipated needing at the time were expertly noticed by our builder, down to the most intricate details. Things like widening the hallway so that a wheelchair could turn 360 degrees in order to enter any of the bedrooms. Or, adding a wider door to the walk-in kitchen pantry so that I could still go in to retrieve canned goods, even in my wheelchair. To my surprise, the cabinet makers found a way to elevate all of our base cabinets a few extra inches off of the ground so that the foot of a wheelchair could go beneath them. And none of these things were done by changing a blueprint or by an added cost. We would simply arrive one day and it would be changed. Essentially, these simple acts of practical kindness became, to me, the hands of God in motion.
It was once the house was completed that even more miracles occurred. I was finally diagnosed. It was not just one diagnosis but several, which resulted in a domino effect of one illness contributing to another and then another. Late stage neurological Lyme Disease, with Rheumatoid Arthritis were the major culprits. Then the unexpected diagnosis of Celiac Disease followed. But just to have the diagnosis was a miracle since it meant we could begin finding treatments. While it was slow going at first, and some were trial and error, it was continual and rejuvenating.
I will never forget the first morning I stepped over the threshold right here on this back porch. I was using a walker but I was doing it on my own and it was possible because my builder had decided to make the porch floor flush with the interior of the house. So that morning as I walked outside, and sat in this very same rocker in which I am sitting right now, a new optimism began to take hold. From that day forward, I remember each step of healing as one more miracle, until one day I could finally work in my flowers.
Oh how I had missed working in my flower garden! And I must say, that first day was certainly not easy. It was an effort just to get situated in the perennial garden. I had to sit on a chair and use a child size shovel because I had not yet gained enough strength to use a normal adult size shovel. But I was determined! So at arm’s length I would stretch, dig under the weeds and dump them in the bucket next to me. Each time was slow and deliberate, but it was glorious. The sun was warming my back, there was dirt under my fingernails, and I was beginning to heal.
I felt God with me in my little garden.
And even today, as I continue to rock, drink my coffee, and look out on that beautiful horizon I thank God for that same little garden and for the gift of life. He built so much more here than a house. For never, at that time, could I have imagined how such obstacles could have been so outnumbered by the blessings; but they certainly were.
I am eternally grateful for the hands that built this home, to the husband that helped me walk when my strength was gone, to the friends that never stopped encouraging us and to the doctors who diagnosed the illnesses so that we could begin a path of restoration.
And through all of this I was sheltered by not only a home, but a haven. Thank YOU Lord, for my “House of Miracles.”
Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. (Ephesians 3:17 NLT)