Isaiah 40:31

September 11, 2018, will be burned into my memory as the day that forever changed the course of my family's faith and the direction of my passions. We were at yet another Cashmere soccer game, and I watched as my younger sister, Millie, was chosen to make a goal kick. As she stepped forward confidently, she planted her right foot and instantly felt a significant pop in her knee. At that moment, without contact, her Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) was torn. At the time, I thought she was faking a play, but it didn’t take long until I clung to my mom, watching my dad sprint onto the field through a haze of tears to carry her off. That night God began to radically shift how my family viewed athletics.

I grew up going to countless sporting events for my sisters, playing in my own games, and attending tons of others. After Millie’s injury, I began to see athletics in a different light and not merely as a self-oriented pursuit of accumulating personal accolades and stats. Instead, I began to recognize what a privilege it is when God gives us the ability to play sports and exercise and how it can be an outpouring of worship that brings Him glory and honor. My family no longer obsessed over ensuring wins but instead was forced to trust Him with the things out of our control. Millie's health and our athletic futures were suddenly placed back where they belonged - in God's hands. I began to appreciate sports and health as more than just a game but a priceless way of life that instills its participants with character traits and abilities that cannot be built anywhere else. God gave me a new vision of the possibilities that surrounded this need for guidance and support along this long road to recovery. What I didn't realize was how long and hard that road would be.

About a month after Millie had torn her ACL, the diagnosis was confirmed via MRI. I was at a friend’s house at the time of her appointment and waited anxiously for the confirmation text from my mom. When my friend saw my distress, she prayed and asked the Lord for words of encouragement for my sister and me. As she prayed, God guided us to a verse that aligned with what He was telling us. I texted my sister a long, heartfelt, encouraging message ending with that verse, Isaiah 40:31. She soon responded by writing, "Emma, I love you, and I am so grateful for your faith and support while I enter this new season. By the way, that was the verse I had written on my arm the night I tore my ACL." She also later told me that the tape around her wrist, on that same night, had initials on it; mine.

A year later, I was accepted into Whitworth University and was excited to explore my health science major and learn more about what I wanted to do. However, I was also nervous about embarking on this unknown journey far from my family and everything familiar about my small hometown. I had just started my first week of classes, and my roommate and I were exploring all the worship nights and Bible studies on campus. The first worship night, called Hosanna, was a year to the day after Millie tore her ACL. When we arrived at Hosanna, my roommate had just found an open space to stand and worship. Soon they cut the music and read scripture. They read Isaiah 40:31. That familiar truth spoke profoundly into my uncertainty about attending Whitworth and acute feelings of homesickness. Remembering this night strengthened me to stay at Whitworth and pursue my dreams of graduating with a degree in health science, even in the hard moments.

About a month after starting school at Whitworth, I had an anatomy and physiology exam, and I completely bombed it. After learning the test scores, I called my mom and told her that I needed to change my major to feel the satisfaction of being good at school. I wanted to run from my fears, and run from the chance of failure. Soon after, she informed me that my little sister might have re-torn her ACL again and that I needed to continue my dreams of being a Physical Therapist to serve others like her. Again, God reminded me of why I was at Whitworth, working to pursue Physical Therapy. He never failed to comfort me and strengthen me in the midst of fear and uncertainty.

About 2 years later, I was halfway through my first full spring semester. I was studying at home because COVID-19 had kicked everyone off campus, so I was finishing my chemistry homework in my room. *The next part of my testimony is one of the hardest to read, but it is crucial to the story*. As an extroverted person and interactive learner, the transition had been difficult, but I never quit, and I never give up on anything. And yet, that night, I had to give up on a chemistry question. But it was more than just the question that night. Shame compounded with feelings of discouragement and guilt. Throughout the transitions and things going on in school and my personal life, I had forgotten my worth and value as a daughter of Christ, and I was ready to give up on everything. But God wouldn’t let me give up. He is faithful, and always will be. The next day my friend Lillian invited me to go to church with her on Sunday. Three days later, I was sitting in the center section in the third row from the front singing the worship song ‘Jireh’. Afterward, Pastor Josh was reading scripture and began,

"Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" – Isaiah 40:31

I instantly broke down in tears. God valued and protected my life by bringing people and experiences into it that He knew I needed. God put me through those trials to put me through a refining fire that removed false motivations and shortcomings and allowed me to pursue what was important.

Throughout my journey, God has continually affirmed my passions, dreams, and His call on my life to become a physical therapist. Heading into a physical therapy program next year, I am trusting that He will be glorified and honored through my work as a physical therapist as I get to serve people in such a special way. God has remained faithful every step of the way, and because of His grace, I can step into this season trusting that He will continue to strengthen me so that I may run and not be weary, walk and not grow faint. Know that God is pursuing you, calling you, and strengthening you. He is inviting you to step into deeper faith, and to step into your dreams and your passions to glorify and honor Him.