In our household, sports account for a large amount of our time spent together as a family. If we are not outside shooting hoops, throwing a football, or kicking a soccer ball, we are at the YMCA, or taking our boys to their favorite gym for practice. Marek, our oldest son, and I spend a good portion of our date nights going to basketball lessons and then to his favorite restaurant for dinner. Marek is an athlete at heart and spends most of his time working to become the best competitor he can be. In the fall of 2023, Marek broke his femur at 10 years old, in his first football game of the season. You can imagine the roller coaster of emotions that our family felt.
For a mother, seeing your child in pain is one of the most agonizing experiences. The initial shock and fear can easily give way to a flood of negative thoughts—doubt, guilt, and despair. Questions like “Could I have prevented this?” or “Why did this happen to my child?” torment your mind. Yet, amidst the chaos of emotions, there lies an opportunity for growth and strength. If I have learned anything through this experience, it is the fact that the way we choose to respond to adversity not only impacts us, but also those around us.
I was determined after Marek’s injury for there to be purpose in our pain. This recovery is long, and it is not over yet, so I remind Marek often that because we choose to worship the one true God and trust in Him, He promises to work everything together for our good. In the early weeks, there were days and nights I found myself giving Marek pep talks about God’s faithfulness and reminding him that there is purpose in our pain. “You can do hard things” has always been a phrase I have used with the boys. I would later find myself texting friends with questions such as, “There is a purpose in this, right?” or “This will get better, right?” It is unbearable as a mother to watch your child cry practice after practice because they are in a wheelchair, watching their teammates participate in the one activity that they love more than anything. On the other side, it is the most profound experience as a mother to watch your child continually show up for his team day after day, encouraging them and cheering them on, knowing he could have quit when his season ended. We had a choice: we could be a victim of our circumstances, or we could choose joy and believe that God is bigger than any trial in this life.
The older I get, the more I look back at painful moments in my life and think, “God is so faithful, and I see now how He used that situation for good.” A few weeks ago, during Life Group, my prayer request was that Marek would finally be released to do the things he loves most. I shared how this had impacted him emotionally and how I just wanted him to get his wish, to be released for a few months before he must undergo surgery again. It was not until I shared this that a friend expressed how inspiring it had been to watch our journey from a distance and see how positive and resilient we had been. She then stated, “maybe the lesson isn’t for Marek, maybe it is for someone else.” My mind was blown. In that moment I realized the power behind overcoming negative thoughts. God can use the way we manage life’s most difficult moments to draw others closer to Him. Life is hard and messy, and in those moments it can be so easy to want to quit or go straight to negativity, but God is good, and if we choose to focus on gratitude and perseverance during times of difficulty, that translates into helping others believe they can do the same because nothing is impossible with God.
One scripture that resonates deeply in such moments, a scripture I have hidden deep in my heart, is James 1:2-3: “When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”
We want to thank Cassie Mogg for sharing this post.
Women's Ministry 