Thank You for the Blood! But Did You have to Brake my Ankle?

By Sharon Howell

Sharon had a feeling that God was going to do something special this year. She found herself getting excited. However, things never go as planned. When a Wednesday morning freak accident occurs, Sharon quickly finds herself with a broken ankle that requires several months in a rehab center. As she finds herself unable to work and worries of mounting medical bills, Sharon never dreamed that she would go on an incredible journey with God and that God's blessing can come in ways that we least likely expect.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sharon Howell
• Release date: Jun 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311822673

Book preview

Sharon Howell

Copyright 2014 by Sharon Howell

Smashwords Edition

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DEDICATION

Dedicated to Bobby Fulbright and his family –Thanks for humbly opening your home and hearts to my family.

And

Dedicated to my dad and physical therapist- Thank you both for making sure I got back on my feet safely.

"When I could stand,

I didn’t want to hold your hand

When I could walk,

I wanted to go my own way

When I could do neither,

I wanted you to carry me

And lead the way."

- Lisa Flecha

PRELUDE

It was approaching the end of the year 2010. I was praying that God would give me a word or theme to live by for the New Year. I felt like He was telling me He was going to bless me. It was going to be a good year. I was getting excited. I could not wait to see what God had in mind for me.

Then January 2011 came…..The year did not start off as I had expected.

CONTENTS

BROKEN

1. THANK GOD FOR THE BLOOD

2. ANKLE VERSUS HEART

3. MIDST OF THE STORM

LEARNING TO LEAN

4. WAKING UP IS HARD TO DO

5. GOD HAS A BELT

6. PATIENTLY WAITING

7. RULES, RULES, RULES

STEPPING OUT IN FAITH

8. ARGUING WITH GOD

9. TRUSTING GOD

10. WALKING WITH GOD

11. A SAFE HOUSE

12. REFUSING TO LISTEN

STANDING ON HIS PROMISES

13. DANCE WITH GOD

14. SETBACK

15. ORANGE BLOOD

16. DISAPPOINTMENT WITH GOD

17. CANE TO NETS

18. GOING HOME

CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

Dear Reader,

Thanks for taking the time to pick up this book and read it. I hope you will not be disappointed. This is a story of the journey God took me on to teach me how to trust Him. I remember as a child hearing a story about Jesus being the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18). It went something like this:

Jesus tells a parable of a man who had a hundred sheep (Luke 15:37). One of the sheep decided to go his own way and was lost. The man left the 99 sheep to go look for the one sheep. The sheep must have kept wandering off because eventually, the shepherd broke its leg. He took good care of the lamb. The lamb would get used to hearing the shepherd’s voice and feeling his compassion. Then when the lamb was healed, he would stay close to the shepherd and not wander off.

The part about breaking the leg of the sheep is not found in the Bible. When I looked this up on the internet, I came across others who had also heard this story and some who had even preached it. I was surprised by the reviews that disagreed with this philosophy. After reading their viewpoints such as the shepherd would not risk the sheep getting an infection or worse, leaving him defenseless against a night predator, I could see their logic. This does sound inhumane for a loving shepherd. However, I do think that even though God may not intentionally hurt us, He does allow things to happen to us for a reason, such as Job in the Bible. We may not always understand it, but God does have a reason. Hardships can be used to reveal God’s awesome power and glory, as well as to teach us a lesson.

In my research, I came across a letter on Christian Forum. This man wrote Sheep Magazine asking about the practice of breaking the leg of the sheep. After reading his response, I liked this viewpoint much better. He tells of a practice where the Shepherd puts a weight on the lamb’s leg to keep him from running off. It slows them down so they are easily caught if they do try to run off. This does not hurt them or wound them. It is called a brake. I can see how this could have been misunderstood in the retelling of this story down through history. Ultimately, you, the reader, will decide for yourself which view you would like to believe. I am not trying to convince you either way, I am just sharing what God has shown me. I pray that you will ask God to reveal the truth to you.

I know in my life I have been easily distracted. I am constantly following different people’s ideas and viewpoints. I realized that I did not think for myself and am constantly trying to please those around me. I can relate to the verse in Isaiah 53:6 (The Message Bible) which says, We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way…. I have found that when God shows you something, you are less likely to forget it. After I broke my leg, I have definitely been drawn closer to God. I am not the same person I was before. Some have even called me a religious fanatic now. After reading this, some may want to nickname the title The Diary of a Crazy Old Lady. I only know that when you encounter God personally, you will never be the same again. [Read about Saul being changed to Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9)] I thank God for the blood-the Blood of forgiveness, love, peace, hope, and healing, etc. - and I also thank God for BRAKE-ING my ankle.

BROKEN

1

THANK GOD FOR THE BLOOD

A few weeks into January, I received a call from my sister. She told me that she had watched a preacher on T.V. named Creflo Dollar. He had a message on Thank God for The Blood and it was really good. She told me that if I got a chance to watch it I should. I am not a big Creflo Dollar fan, but he does have some good messages. So, I told her I