Scoliosis and the Gospel Pt.5

Savannah has to wear this brace for 23 hours per day. It's a nuisance in the sense that it seems so uncomfortable and because of its inconvenience. Yet, we would be wrong to let Savannah have her way and not wear it. This brace should prevent the curve from getting worse and further, may, and already has, help correct the curve. We didn't see this coming though.

We knew Savannah was growing up like a weed, fast and tall, but it wasn't until someone outside of our family--our family doctor--examined her and pointed out what was so obvious to her: She has a crooked back. Even once we found out about the crooked back, there was nothing we, in and of ourselves, could do to stop the crookedness. Having a crooked back doesn't automatically correct itself. You don't wake up one morning with a curve in your spine and then another morning later, months down the road, wake up and find the curve is gone. We needed someone else who was much more capable of fixing the problem step in and address the issue. We needed a brace.

But purchasing a brace and having it custom-fitted to Savannah was not enough to fix her back. Accepting the brace into her life as something she owned was not enough. Everyday, every hour (of course with a few exceptions--baths, swimming, sports, etc--but hey, work with me on this!) she has to keep the brace on her. Her act of simply putting the brace on though, is not what fixes her back. The brace itself is what fixes her back.

It's an analogy and all analogies break down, but I think you can see the picture pretty clear (at least I hope so, otherwise, I'm praying that God will give you eyes to see and ears to understand):

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you- unless you believed in vain.

We need a Savior. He is the One who picks us up from our state of deadness, changes our hearts of stone to hearts of flesh, places within us faith to believe, and causes us to repent and believe continually until the end. Dear friends, "continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard..." (Colossians 1:23)

Read about Savannah's Scoliosis
Scoliosis and the Gospel Pt. 1
Scoliosis and the Gospel Pt. 2
Scoliosis and the Gospel Pt. 3
Scoliosis and the Gospel Pt. 4