Hi, I’m Joni and my friend, Gracie, doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Her name is Gracie Rosenberger and she lost both of her legs in a terrible automobile accident in the early 80’s and, as a result, Gracie walks on prosthetic legs – she dresses her plastic legs up nicely, she does, with really stylish shoes. Gracie’s got a great attitude, she really does! And she and her husband, Peter, have quite a ministry among wounded soldiers who have lost limbs in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Recently Gracie and Peter were at Walter Reed Hospital to visit the new amputee training center. They made the rounds and were able to encourage so many young soldiers who were just beginning to learn how to walk on their shaky new metal legs. However, they encountered a young man whose wounds resulted from friendly fire. He had been hit by his own team.
Gracie tried to greet him, but he was incredibly rude. Lying on his back while working out on a physical therapy table, he couldn’t see the two metal legs she was standing on; he could only see her from the waist up. The physical therapist working with him tried to tell the young man that Gracie was welcome there... that she had a lot of practical advice worth hearing. But this young soldier wasn’t interested. In his mind, as he looks down at his amputated leg, he didn’t even get the bragging rights to say he lost it for his country …rather, he was thinking it seems like he lost it because of his country. (Of course that's not true ...and he's a hero in Gracie’s book… and a hero to all of us just for enlisting).
Still, the wounded soldier didn’t care. That’s when Gracie propped her prosthetic leg near where his head rested on the low workout table. The wounded soldier not only noticed her artificial leg beside him (encased in a beautiful shoe, I might add), but his eyes turned to watch her balancing on her other artificial leg, as well. Gracie said to him with a smile, “Okay, big guy, you’re not the only amputee in here, ya know.”
The soldier in him quietly nodded at her. It’s going to take awhile for him to change. Dealing with an injury from friendly fire is a hard thing to swallow. And you don’t have to be a soldier to understand. Maybe you are dealing with deep wounds caused by someone close to you. It hurts because it’s friendly fire – you don't expect to be wounded by someone on your team or in your family.
Well, remember what Gracie ended up saying to that young soldier: Jesus Christ, the captain of our salvation, is the wounded warrior who presents His own wounds, demonstrating to each of us His love, “For while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Friend, it’s a hurting world and would you please be praying for our upcoming Warrior’s Getaway as we reach out to wounded soldiers like that young man? It’s all part of our Family Retreat program and, hey, you might know somebody else who’s been wounded – doesn’t have to be a soldier – but someone who could benefit from attending one of our Family Retreats this summer.
Well, I want to send you three Family Retreat brochures for you to give to a disabled person and his family… maybe someone in church or in your neighborhood. Just write me at P.O. Box 3333, Agoura Hills, CA 91376 or you can simply visit me today on our website at joniandfriendsradio.org, click on the cover of the brochure, and I’ll get it to you right away. We want to help heal those deep wounds families feel because of an injury or illness… so please, help us get them to our Family Retreat, would you? Again that’s joniandfriendsradio.org. And oh, by the way, keep praying for that one wounded soldier injured by friendly fire. So come by and visit me today at our radio page at joniandfriendsradio.org and let us hear from you. Until next time, thanks for listening to Joni and Friends.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends