By Ronald D. Mallett —
It was a balmy May morning, and I awoke to a chorus of songbirds riding the fenced balcony of our second floor bedroom. I swung my legs from under the blankets and reached for my slippers.
The joy of the spring awakening turned to horror as I stared at my left foot. All five toes had turned black, and the big toe of the right foot was darkening. All six affected toes resembled chunks of barbecue coals.
Shocked and dismayed, I awakened my wife Pat and began to dress. She nearly fainted as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “We’ve got to get you to a doctor!” she cried.
Our closest doctor had an office in Bethlehem, Connecticut, just a couple miles from our home. I walked into Dr. Andy Well’s waiting room just moments after he opened. Though initially annoyed at my abrupt intrusion, he mood quickly shifted to one of alarm.
After a thorough session of questioning, starting with the suggestion it was frost bite… he concluded that it was something worse. A few more minutes passed as he poked and prodded. Suddenly he said “I’ve got to get you to a clinic. I think the veins of your leg are dying.”
“Do you think I’ll lose my toes?” I asked in fear. “Toes?” he replied. “We’ve got to save your legs! I’m sending you to a clinic in Waterbury.” He picked up the phone and made the appointment, which couldn’t be until the next morning, we learned. I pulled up my socks and left for home feeling mighty sorry for myself.
The day passed slowly and I went about my normal routines despite the awful coloring. I was in no pain and chores were not a burden in any way. That night I tossed restlessly, but then felt a calming sensation filling my body and soul.
Oddly, remembrances of Tom Dempsey, the famed pro football player handicapped by a
club foot came to mind. He was born without toes on his right foot, but became one of pro football’s all-time outstanding kickers. His love of the sport never diminished.
As these thoughts poured into my consciousness, I remember chuckling in remembrance of Tom, and fantasizing that I could become a football player if they at least saved some of the toes on the right foot. The left foot was already a lost cause.
In an odd moment of self-amusement, I called out loudly into the night: “Lord, you aren’t going to let this happen to me, are you?” I then fell peacefully into a deep sleep.
Then something remarkable happened.
The next morning, as light began to fill the bedroom, I casually swung my feet to the side of the bed and investigated my toes. THEY WERE AS PINK AS A BABY’S! God had healed me!
A small black blob of charcoal fell from the big toe of the right foot as a permanent remembrance of God’s grace.
I quickly dressed and once again stood in the doorway as Dr. Wells opened his office that morning. He examined me, and in a confused manner said I seemed to be okay, but he still wanted me to keep the appointment in Waterbury. “They’ll do a more thorough checkup, but” – he added – “they’re not going to find anything!”
He was right. They did some painful tests like wrapping my legs with tubular wrapping and inflating it to a great degree. But, when all was said and done… they found nothing wrong and sent me home.
To this day, some 50 years later, I still have healthy feet. But I get a near-daily reminder of God’s grace and His love as I in fond remembrance glance at the slightly-stubby toe of the right foot.
He is real, He is good, He responds to prayer. When He does not respond, we can know for sure that there is a good reason, and someday will be led to understand. For He exercises perfection in sharing with all His kids an unlimited treasure of love, knowledge and wisdom.
He graciously acknowledged my spontaneous good-humored request for help. I was surprised at his rapid response and I suggest others try it sometime. There’s nothing unique about me. Just another human who, in fact, today has a chronic ailment that God has chosen not to heal.
It’s called Myasthenia Gravis and I’m okay with that… He has responded so many times to so many other unhappy issues in my 87 years on earth. I’ve gotten more than my share of divine help for over 80 decades of a very active and varied lifestyle.
I am fully content!
