—Isaiah 55 : 8

We often moan and groan over what has befallen us until we realize it was all for the best. God was taking care of us all the time in His own mysterious way. But, we did not know that what was happening to us was part of His plan to restore our heart’s ability to heal. Until, inexplicably, our eyes were opened.

The following story by Tony Montgomery is a testimony to how God can straighten out our lives in ways we could never have imagined.

“In 1969, when I was ten years old, I suddenly became stricken with a mysterious sickness. First, my knees began to buckle under me, then they began to swell, and finally I couldn’t walk anymore. I was rushed to the hospital.

“My parents got divorced the year before, and I had been inconsolable. As an only child, the divorce hit me particularly hard. Several medical practitioners suggested that my illness might have psychological underpinnings.

“Both of my parents were also devastated by my mysterious illness. Although I was in my mother’s custody, my father asked if he could visit me regularly at the hospital, and she agreed. The divorce had been bitter, but my mother was so grateful for someone with whom to share her burden— both physical and emotional—that she allowed my father liberties she normally would never have acceded to.

“They agreed that a united front was vital and set aside their differences for the sake of my recovery. They achieved an uneasy peace and formed a rapprochement of sorts. I was delighted to see them talking to one another civilly for the first time in months.

“At the beginning of my illness, my parents took turns at my bedside. My mother would sit with me during the day and then immediately leave the moment my father arrived to take over the “night shift.” But after a few weeks, my mother began tarrying a bit after my father’s arrival and stopped rushing out the door the minute he made his entrance. Their ‘shifts’ began to overlap, and they began to spend time discussing my case. When my mother conferred with new doctors, she asked my father to be present during the consultation. Once or twice, they even went downstairs to the hospital cafeteria to share a quick bite together. Things got so that when my mother burst into occasional tears — no longer able to restrain or hide her anxiety — my father draped a comforting arm around her.

“After three months in the hospital, my case was dismissed, and I returned home in no better shape than before. Doctors told my parents they had not been able to determine the cause of my mysterious disorder and that I probably would never be able to walk again. Despite this grim prognosis, there was one ray of light in my bleak life: My parents had fallen in love with each other all over again and had decided to remarry! I was overcome with joy.

“Six months after their remarriage, I was suddenly able to walk again. I am now fifty one years old and haven’t experienced any difficulty ever since, except for a slight ache in the knees every now and then. Doctors were never able to solve the mystery of the strange disorder that had befallen me, nor were they able to explain what caused my miraculous recovery. I, however, have always felt that the entire episode was God-ordained, its purpose clear.

“Had I not become seriously ill, my parents would never have gotten together again and remarried. My illness was the spark that reignited their love.

“It was all part of God’s mysterious plan from the beginning. He was taking care of us whether we were aware of it or not.

” The good Lord turned, what seemed, a tragic event into a blessing, and opened my eyes to understand that His ways are not our ways.”