Page 48 - Evidence of Things Unseen

Both my son Josiah and my daughter Kristin were born with a hereditary bone disease
called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which simply means “imperfect bone formation.” The
common name for this disorder is “Brittle Bone Disease.” Kristin was born first, and she
entered this world already having suffered a fracture of the thigh while in the womb. This
fracture had healed by the time of her birth. She then broke three more bones by the age of
two, and at one time she had both legs in a cast simultaneously. Josiah was born two years
after Kristin, and he also experienced a broken bone when he was only a year old.
When our children were at this early age, someone suggested to my wife and I that we
should apply for government SSI benefits for children with disabilities. We were told that
these benefits would pay for all medical expenses, as well as providing a monthly stipend
for the child’s support. I did not seek God’s mind on this matter. The money and the free
medical care both sounded appealing, so we applied for these benefits on both of our
children. Remarkably, Kristin was turned down although she had already experienced four
fractures. Josiah, who had only one fracture at this time, was accepted.
God was about to demonstrate something to me through this peculiar set of
circumstances. Over the course of the next six years Josiah was to break eleven more bones,
and have surgery twice to put a bone in place. Kristin, who had been turned down for these
government benefits, never suffered another fracture. By the age of seven Tony and I had
been in and out of hospitals and doctors’ offices regularly. We were continually taking
Josiah to receive medical care for his many broken bones. The knowledge that I was not
having to pay a dime for Josiah’s medical care provided little consolation to me, neither did
the fact that I was getting three to four hundred dollars a month for his support. My heart
was burdened for my son.
It does not take much for a child with this disease to injure himself. On one occasion,
when Josiah was about three or four years old, he was in the doctor’s office and had just
gotten a cast off of his leg. When the doctor stepped out of the room for a minute, Josiah
got up to walk over to a nearby trash can, and he fell down right before he got there. Tony
recognized the tone of Josiah’s crying and knew that he had broken another bone. The
doctor came back in and she told him what had happened. He agreed to x-ray him, and he
found that he had fractured the same leg in a different location. The doctor was amazed,
saying that he had never had a patient break a bone while in the office.
Seeing my son endure so many injuries was tearing at my heart. I knew that every time
Josiah was in a cast that his muscles would grow weaker and this would compound the
problem, for the muscles provided support to the bones. If both the muscles and bones were
weak he would injure himself much more.
Josiah was seven years old when we began fellowshipping at Living Faith. I had often
prayed for my son before, but on one particular day I really poured my heart out. I told God
that I wanted my son to be able to play like other boys. I wanted him to be able to ride bikes,
and play on trampolines, and play ball without breaking his bones. I wanted him to be able
to have fun with the other young boys, and not have to hobble along on crutches, looking
at the others play while he stood watching. God spoke to me on this day and He said, “I will
heal your son, but you will have to trust me completely and not lean on any other for His
healing.”
A number of thoughts began to come to my mind. I was reminded that since my
daughter had been turned down for SSI benefits that she had not broken another bone, but
Josiah, having the benefits, continued breaking multiple bones each year. Now, I suppose
some could have looked at this and said, “See, God knew which child would break the