It was January 2001, and Dad was 81 and bending under the weight of his grief. Mum had left us less than two months earlier. In his weak state, a harsh viral infection paralyzed a vocal cord and reduced his voice to a faint whisper. He couldn’t call out if he needed help, so he had to carry a bell with him wherever he went. Dad is by nature very sociable, so not being able to talk was difficult in more ways than one.

We did the rounds of ear, nose, and throat doctors, voice specialists, throat surgeons—the works. One doctor thought he detected a possible growth in Dad’s throat, which might need attention. Another recommended surgery to replace the paralyzed vocal cord with some sort of gadget. The list of diagnoses and possible cures went on and on.

A grandson who had always hero-worshipped Dad got married, and he asked Dad to give the toast. Dad wrote out a toast that was both touching and brilliantly humorous, but our hearts were heavy as he sat to the side while his granddaughter read the toast. Many such disappointments and frustrations surrounded Dad’s affliction, and the weeks stretched to two and a half years. Still, Dad never stopped praising God, and never questioned His decision to take his voice.

Then Dad was struck with another less serious affliction—an allergic cough that would not go away. It left him helpless and exhausted through the night, and caused him to be unable to enjoy a meal without choking. We never lost faith, but it was getting increasingly difficult to watch Dad suffer so.

Then at about four o’clock one morning, while the rest of us in the house were sleeping, Dad went into a coughing spasm. He sat up and muttered angrily at the cough—and there was something different about that mutter. It took a minute or two for it to fully register, but Dad had talked in a normal voice! He had coughed so much over the last month that it finally jolted the paralyzed vocal cord to life!

There is something very special about the moment when a miracle happens. God made sure that Dad’s moment was not diluted by the sounds of the day or the presence of others. He was alone in the quiet of the night with his Maker.

Looking back, it’s easy to see the “all things work together for good to those who love God” in this situation (Romans 8:28). Dad’s heart had been so weak after Mother left that he could not afford to be his usual, talkative self. He needed to be quiet and still, so the Lord took his voice away till he was stronger. And the cough that had been such a bitter pill turned out to be the cure for the paralyzed vocal cord, which no doctor or treatment had been able to cure in two and a half years!

Now I know what people mean when they say that just when you think you have come to the end of your own resources and cannot take any more, you have reached that point where the Lord comes through for you and gives you the “exquisite experience.”  ■

Sunita Andrews is an Activated reader in India.