Conquering Obstacles (Part 11--The Dream)

With the incidents with Mr. Eckhart and my Aunt Grace behind me, I looked forward to the remainder of the summer before starting junior high school. I was soon turning 12 and and actually excited about my yearly visit to Dr. Allard. My life was about to change forever! All of the braces would finally be gone, and I could become a "normal" young lady.

All I heard the doctor say that day was, "I'm sorry. I can't help her." before bursting into tears. The rest became a blur. I think that my mother was even more disappointed than I was if that was possible. I knew now what she would say to comfort me:

"No one is perfect. Everyone has something wrong with them. It can be on the inside where you can't see it, or it can be on the outside for the world to see. God chose the outside for you, and because of this, you will become a stronger person."

This seemed to be her solution for every problem I encountered; but this time she added:

"God has a plan and this just wasn't part of it. Believe me."

That was our last visit to see Dr. Allard.

Remember the Davis family that lived next door? The family now included five children, Patty, being the youngest at 2 years old. She hadn't learned to walk yet because she was born with cerebral palsy and wore full-length braces on both legs similar to those that I had worn years earlier. My mother and I talked about her often because she was so very much like me. I thought of her often and hoped she wouldn't have too many disappointments in her life.

I was surprised, though, that my mother talked about Patty, because my childhood years had never even been mentioned...until the dream.

For more than a week, I had had the same dream every night. It was short, but so, so vivid in my mind. Why? Why? was I having this same dream? It didn't frighten me at all, but just made me curious. It was time to share it with my mother.

She listened intently as I described the dream to her: "In my dream, we were in the car. I was in the back seat eating carrots, but I got really sick and started throwing up; and you pulled me over the seat into the front between you and Dad. When we got home, you both got out to take things into the house. I scooted across the seat to the door and stepped outside. I fell down. When you came back, I told you that I couldn't get up. I can't walk. Then you pulled me up into your arms and yelled, "Fred, call the doctor. The end."

As I finished sharing my dream, I asked, "Mom? Why are you crying? It's just a dream."

She quietly whispered, "It's more than a dream. It's exactly what happened the day you got sick. It's God's way of telling you something that perhaps we should have told you years ago. It must be part of His plan for you."

To be continued...