Most of you know by now that I have been wearing a knee brace on my left knee.

Everything seemed to start on Missions Conference weekend. Since we were very active with Mongolds that Saturday, I assumed I wrenched my knee, somehow someway.

But it didn't go away. It got worse. My chiropractor tried to treat it but he eventually decided there was something going on that required X-rays. Now that I am newly on Medicare, that would require a referral from my PCP.

We were getting ready to go on our trip out west and I was losing mobility fast. I knew I had an appointment with my PCP when I returned and . . . We were days away from leaving. So many things to finish before then.

But I was having trouble being able to walk when I stood up from my chair at work. I was so obviously in pain one time that one of the young ladies on our team walked me down the stairs because our elevator was (is) broken.

I was having constant leg spasms at night, which woke me up and left me awake for hours.

Enter . . . The ladies' prayer group. They prayed for my knee but one of them (Marci) specifically prayed that I would have wisdom how to handle everything. This was less than two weeks before our trip.

The next day I called the PCP. Somehow my appointment after vacation had vanished. The staff urged me to be seen the next day.

The day after that I had an X-ray.

The day after that I had a diagnosis, severe osteoarthritis, with that knee almost bone on bone. I also had a prescription for a painkiller and an anti-inflammatory.

I started the painkiller. Nothing changed. Good, actually, because this painkiller can be addictive.

The next day, I started the anti-inflammatory. Like night to day, everything changed. My pain lifted almost immediately and I could walk normally again.

I did not have one moment of pain on vacation. We were walking all over on uneven surfaces and I did well! I had 2-3 nighttime spasms in the entire 16 days of our trip, covering almost 6000 miles.

I stand amazed at our God and at the power of prayer offered to Him.

And thank you, ladies' prayer group!