Adult Onset Acquired Hip Dislocation

For a middle aged man at the peak of his carer and major transition in life, this was not a good experience to go through.

He has been mostly well in control of his life. He come out into this world, holding to the heel of his twin brother, earning him his name as “Heel puller” or one who deceives. This name seemed to have grown on him. He had manipulated and got the birth right by offering his tired brother some lentil soup. He along with his mother had tricked his father to give him all the blessings instead of his elder brother. Even with God, he was either negotiating or bargaining. Taking care of his father-in-laws sheep, he had managed to expand the work much more than expected by any one. His own remuneration, he planned out a strategy which yielded huge personal dividends. As he prepared to return, he planned out his strategies so well to protect his family and resources.  A driven, excellent planner, negotiator, resource generator. Any HR hiring firm would have grabbed him!

 

But deep in his heart, he was not what he was pushing himself to be. He had a deep sense of fear, fear of his brother, and father in law, how the future would emerge, all possibly emerging from insecurity, and identity crises. He had manipulated systems to become what he was now. He had grown in the context of sibling rivalry and parental liking for one child over the other and all these had left deep sense of insecurity.

This was when his hip got dislocated. This all night struggle with the wrestler, not only physically disabled him but left him emotionally tried and exhausted. But in the midst of this he was changing internally too. His own identity as Deceiver was being changed to one who engages with God. From being blessed through his disability he was moving to becoming a blessing. 

The change was noticeable by all. One who had never built an alter, unlike his father and grandfather, was starting to build alters. His purposes were changing, from building his own life to aligning his and his family’s life to God and His purposes. He started mobilizing his family and community to change their own lives and align to the greater purposes for which God had call them.

And the result – instead of fear the “Fear of God” fell on the people around them, through their life change, the purpose for which God has taken hold of the Jacob.