When I was in college I was on the college gymnastics team and we practiced hard every day. Over a period of time the sole area of my right foot began to hurt worse and worse. It became so tender I couldn’t walk on it. The athletic trainer diagnosed the problem as plantar fasciitis, told me to stretch it, and gave me crutches to use when it hurt too badly, which I did. For a couple of weeks I was on the crutches much of the time and still in great pain. Even though I had stopped competing in the other events because of my foot, I was still competing on uneven bars for my team.
One day we were at a major competition and one of our vaulters became ill during warm-ups for the meet. I really wanted to be able to help the team by filling my position as a vaulter, but walking was still painful so I prayed to know what to do.
I knew God had an answer for me. As I prayed, I felt such a sense of Christ’s presence, and my God-given dominion. I remembered the Bible citation (ISA 40:31) “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” I knew this applied to me.
I asked the coach if I could vault and she said I could if my foot didn’t hurt too much. I hobbled up to the end of the vaulting runway and quietly said, “God, I put myself in your hands; let’s have fun!” The first few running steps were painful and I limped, but then I felt a movement in my foot and found that I no longer had any pain. I could run full strength. By the time I reached the springboard, I knew I my healing was complete.
I did vault for the team that day, and after that competition I took my rightful place as an all-around competitor on the team again without any pain or other problems in my foot during the rest of my time at college.
I attribute this healing to a willingness to humbly defer to God’s will for me.