— Psalm 118:24, New International Version
I know what you might be thinking—rejoice? In this pain?
Trust me, I’ve asked the same thing.
Trust me, I’ve asked the same thing.
After my knee replacement, I had days when I sat in my recliner with tears in my eyes and a body that just... ached. My knee throbbed, the scar was red and angry, and I barely recognized the body I was living in.
Sleep was scarce. Independence felt distant. And if you had handed me this verse on one of those days? I probably would’ve set it down gently… or not so gently.
But one morning, I read these words in Jesus Calling by Sarah Young:
“Open your hands and your heart to receive this day as a precious gift from Me.”¹
And something shifted.
Not because I was full of faith.
In fact, I took a 25-year break from my faith entirely. I was raised believing, but somewhere along the line—life, loss, corporate career—I drifted. It wasn’t until my knees failed me that I realized how much I needed to rebuild my relationship with God before I could even consider having surgery.
That story—my return to faith—is actually the very first blog I ever wrote. It’s raw, a little imperfect (like most firsts are), but it’s honest. And it sets the stage for why this particular blog exists today.
Faith became my foundation—not just for surgery, but for life.
As I learned to open my hands again, I started to trace the fingerprints of God:
The surgeon who trained for years, the medical advancements that even made joint replacement possible, the divine timing of it all. None of it erased the pain, but it reminded me I wasn’t forgotten.
The surgeon who trained for years, the medical advancements that even made joint replacement possible, the divine timing of it all. None of it erased the pain, but it reminded me I wasn’t forgotten.
The Life Application Study Bible notes that even the writers of the Psalms had moments of deep sorrow and frustration.² But they brought it to God. And in doing so, their grief often transformed into praise.
If rejoicing feels like a stretch today, just start with honesty. That’s where healing begins.
And if you're craving a deeper walk through faith and recovery, I created a Faith Module inside the Knee Replacement Hub just for that. Because no matter how far you’ve wandered—or how swollen your knee is today—there’s still a path back to peace.
And you're not walking it alone.
Citations
- Life Application Study Bible, New International Version. Tyndale House Publishers, 2005.
Psalm 118:24 Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
P.S. If you want to read that very first blog—about how my knees led me back to God—you can find it here: https://suzieqandrade.com/blog/20889/believe-in-your-faith-skills-and-never-stop-improving-
(Just promise you’ll excuse the rookie writing—it was written from the heart 💗)
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