God Chose Her Physical Therapist

     A woman in a Christian small group told me this story.  After having a knee replacement, she was checking out of the hospital on a Tuesday morning.  She needed in-home physical therapy, and a friend had recommended a certain therapist.  So she had that therapist’s name written down in the hospital’s records.  But then a hospital staff member came to her room and said the hospital didn’t use that particular therapist, but they had another therapist in mind for her.

     To the woman’s surprise, the staff member recommended the name of the same therapist she had used nine years earlier after a different operation.  This sounded as if God was working, so she happily agreed.

     She went home, and her therapy was due to start that same afternoon.  But the therapist never arrived at her house – and for the next two days her husband phoned the therapy organization complaining, but the organization was never able to confirm when, or if, the designated therapist would arrive.

     Then the miracle happened.  Late on Thursday afternoon, the scheduler for the therapy organization was on the phone with the husband, explaining that no therapists were available that afternoon.  Then suddenly the scheduler said to the husband, “Oh, wait a minute, sir!  One of our best therapists just walked in.  His schedule has been full for weeks, but he just now had a cancellation.  He’ll be at your home in fifteen minutes.”

     Soon the new therapist arrived and gave the woman some of the best therapy she had ever had.  He was a Christian with remarkable skills, and he even prayed with her and shared Bible verses with her.

     So the woman and her husband learned a Spiritual lesson.  Their mistake had not been in planning her therapy.  That was common sense.  Their mistake had been in being frustrated when their human plan didn’t seem to be working.

     Thousands of years ago, King Solomon, the wisest and richest man who ever lived, said, “We can make our plans – but it’s the Lord who directs our steps.”[1.  Adapted from Proverbs 16:9.]  So human plans are good as far as they go.  But we shouldn’t be frustrated when interrupts to tweak them.  We should be patient and appreciative when He tweaks our human plans to give us the best that He has for us.