His Word in my Heart by Janet Pope

This is an excerpt from a book that I am currently reading. It's a bit long but was a blessing to me and hope it will be to you as well.

"When our son Austin was born, one foot was bent the wrong way. We were sent to a specialist, who explained that it was a completely normal foot but had been cramped in the womb. This doctor did not ask for our suggestions or ideas; he had his own procedure. He described the tiny orthopedic shoe Austin would have to wear. These would hold both of his feet together with an eight-inch metal brace. The doctor assured us that if we followed his instructions precisely, Austin would have a perfect foot in about a year, with no lasting effects. If we didn't follow his orders, Austin would be impaired for the rest of his life.

The instructions were simple: Keep the shoes on at all times, except for bathing, and buy new shoes every four or five weeks. That didn't sound too complicated. We left the doctor's office with our six-week-old baby boy and his new shoes. We were so relieved at the good news and determined to be faithful to the guidelines because nothing less than a perfect foot was acceptable for our son.

Before we even pulled into our driveway, Austin began to cry. He did not like those pretty new shoes. His feet were basically tied together, and he couldn't kick one without the other. He cried, he screamed, he got mad, he fought and kicked and begged us with his eyes to stop this torture. He didn't understand what was happening to him and why we were being so cruel. He looked at us with such sad eyes, and we really did feel sorry for him. But we loved him too much to give in, no matter how much he cried. That first day and night, he wailed constantly until he was so exhausted he finally fell asleep.

The next day, we were flying to Florida to visit grandparents, so we decided to skip the bath that morning, because if we took off the shoes and he tasted freedom, he'd start crying again when we put them back on. We went to Florida, and it wasn't until the next day that we finally took the shoes off for the first time to bathe him. Bless his heart, he had kicked and fought so much that he had a terrible blister on his heel, already broken, sore, and red. It was almost too much for a mother to bear.

I called the doctor in Dallas and asked if we could keep the shoes off until it healed. He said, "Absolutely not. If it hurts him enough, he'll quite kicking." For the next twelve months, we rigidly followed the doctor's orders, and today our son has a perfect foot. He said to me the other day, "Mom, which foot was it?" I laughed and said, "I can't even remember."

What's the point to this story? We are all born defective, and God, who is the Master Designer, has a plan to fix us. He has given us a Book of complete instructions, and He has given us a resident Helper, His Spirit. As we obey these instructions, we are being transformed to conform to God's original design. If we ignore the instructions, we will continue to be impaired. When we are faced with these two options, there seems an obvious choice, but of course, it's never that simple. Obedience means changing, and we resist change because it is often a painful process that involves trials and hardships. Our nature tells us to find another way so that we can avoid the bruises and scars. We may kick and scream and blame God, but He loves us too much to change the instructions. Nothing less than perfect is acceptable to God because we are His children."