by Dave Dravecky
On that shocking day in Montreal when my left arm snapped in mid pitch and I tumbled to the ground in a crumpled heap of pain, I felt a surprising sense of peace and inner calm. From one perspective that day was a tragic setback to the months of intense rehab and training I endured to make my “impossible” comeback to Major League baseball.Yet strange as it seems, I didn’t feel that sense of loss. Although I nearly passed out from the pain, I had the sense that God wasn’t finished with me. Despite the uncertainty my new injury raised, I knew without a doubt that God was beginning a whole new chapter in my life. I had no explanation as to why, I had no specific knowledge of His purpose, but I knew that something much bigger than baseball was about to unfold. The path I was destined to walk was no picnic. I never could have imagined the darkness of the valley that path would take me through. For two years I faced periods of pain and crushing disappointment as the tumor returned and my arm refused to heal. Jan suffered from exhaustion and depression. After my arm was amputated, I sank into depression as well. The darkness of those days affected every part of our lives.The pain, sadness, confusion, and seeming endlessness of our struggle at times overwhelmed us. But just as Isaiah 45:3 promises, Jan and I found treasures in that darkness.We found riches stored in the secret places of our suffering. Like markers on a trail, those treasures gave us hope and urged us on. They pointed us, indeed led us, to God Himself and helped prepare us for the new chapter of our lives. Our prayer is that this issue of The Encourager will help you discover some of those treasures so that you, too, will come to know God better—even in the darkness.
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