In my dream, I had a vision.
An angel of the Lord led me down to the depths of the sea.
“What do you see?” the angel asked.
I said, “I see a boy, a child, in the mouth of a shark!”
“Yes,” the angel said.
“But, he is terrified!” I said.
“He will be grateful,” the angel said. “Watch.”
As I gazed upon the frightened child, a great white suddenly attacked the shark. The child began to climb out of the mouth of the shark, but he had set his leg upon its jaws and the shark bit down and took off his leg. The child, however, was able to swim away safely because the great white was devouring the shark.
“How is this possible?” I asked the angel.
“Do you not know?” the angel responded. “Have you not heard? With God, all things are possible.”
“But,” I said. “Why was the child not spared this danger in the first place?”
“You will see,” the angel said. “Come.”
A moment later, we were on dry ground.
“Was that real?” I asked. “I am disillusioned.”
“What do you see?” the angel asked.
“My leg is gone!” I proclaimed. “I was the child!”
“Yes,” the angel said.
“But,” I said. “How can I live without my leg? I lost my leg!”
“But, you did not lose you,” the angel said. “And that is precisely what would have happened had you not lost your leg. If the shark had not swallowed you whole, the great white would have attacked you from the side. You would have been devoured and destroyed. Instead, you have been spared.”
“Why?” I asked. “Why have I been spared? Why am I still here? Why must I suffer so much?”
“You suffer,” the angel said. “Indeed, you exist, to give hope. Now, go. And teach God’s children how to walk with a limp. Strengthen your brothers. Encourage your sisters. Show them how to survive A Dark & Stormy Night.”
“Yes, my lord,” I said, bowing my head in respect as the angel vanished from my sight.
When I woke up, I recorded my vision, that my brothers and my sisters may yet understand why they, too, must walk with a limp.
“Do you not know? Have you not heard?
“With God, all things are possible.”
Broken Believers 