Bible Socks and a Broken Ankle
And the Lord was with Joseph Genesis 39:2
Content warning:
This blogpost contains an image of a very broken ankle covered in a very cool sock. If you get nauseous seeing out of place appendages, but still want to hear the story, have someone who that image won’t bother read it to you ♥️
My name is Liliana J Stephenson, multilingual educator and youth cricket advocate. I hold a BA in Spanish, German, and English teaching secondary education, plus a certificate in teaching English to non-native speakers. I have lived all over the world including Chicago, Australia, Sri Lanka, England, Scotland and Ireland. I used to work at the Wendy’s in Carroll, Ohio.
How I came to be a former crew member is quite miraculous and not the focus of these musings, but a pair of scripture socks…is.
I love socks.
I’ve had a sock obsession ever since, well, forever I think. It got to the point that I made a sock quilt to immortalize the socks where one or both socks met some holey demise. My fuzzy New Zealand sheep socks, fish socks, my precious Fido Dido socks all have a place now where, although disintegrating, they still help keep me warm in a different capacity.
“I’m afraid we’re going to have to cut your sock off, but after we put you mostly under.”
”I don’t want to be awake for the resetting.”
You see, I was walking to work Thursday morning, as I do, because I’m trying to be healthy. There is a stretch along the way where there is no sidewalk. I have traversed it several times, so I wasn't even concerned when the sidewalk ended and the grassy drainage ditch began.
That was until I slipped and heard a snap.
At that moment a series of things went through my mind.
”What was that?…ooooh…” the sound caught up with my eyes and I recognized my foot was hanging limply to the right when it should have been at the end of my leg that was straight up in the air.
I swallowed panic. I mean, I felt my heart race, but my brain started damage control:
Assess, assess…
I was lying on an incline that faces a semi-busy street, the ER/outpatient facility just on the other side. The road into the subdivision was still visible, but I wasn’t right on the corner.
I started to scream.
I wasn’t screaming because of the pain, I was screaming to let people know I needed help.
”HELP! HELP! HELP!” I cried out into the grey skies. A couple of cars left and entered the subdivision, but didn’t stop to come see why this woman was lying on her back screaming with her leg in the air. I get it; I imagine it was a weird sight.
After a few minutes, I remembered I had a phone.
I called my director Ms. Amy.
You see, I had just agreed to work everyday at my favorite school. I realized this “slip up” was going to impact the plan. I don’t remember exactly what I said when she answered but it was something like “Amy, Amy, Amy, I’m so sorry! I snapped my ankle and I won’t be able to cover Ms. Penny’s class and I’m sorry I’ve let you down but could you please please come pick me up, no one has stopped to help, I’m on the corner of the subdivision!”
”Lili,” she said calmly, “I will come get you.”
That’s Ms. Amy for you, cool as a cucumber, no matter the situation. She’s the best.
Then, I called Jer. “I’m so so so so so sorry, but I snapped my ankle and I don’t know what to do, no one stopped to help, but I called Ms. Amy and she’s on her way and could you stay on the phone with me until someone comes?”
”Yes,” he said.
Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a grey minivan stop on the corner.
That’s when I started to cry. They weren’t tears of pain, they were tears of gratitude. Someone stopped. Someone paused their busy day to help a stranger. She took my phone and unknowingly hung up on Jer.
She called 911.
Brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that?
Things got jumbled then. I heard half of the conversation, it was like she was arguing or reiterating our location to the operator. I told her I had called my director and I knew she’d come get me.
Then, like a queen on a white horse, Ms. Amy’s white mini suv pulled up to the side of the road. More tears. She came to get me. She came. I knew she would.
Discussion ensued, then I randomly threw in “Can you just thread me into the back seat? The hospital is just right there.”
This is when I wished I was still 119 pounds, hence the walking. It’s hard enough to be in such a vulnerable position, but to be overweight on top of it when people need to carry you is just embarrassing.
But the miracle happened: they grabbed me under the arms, I used my good leg for support and once near the car, they helped me turn around, I grabbed for the inside handle of the far window and pulled myself in, foot semi flopping with the movement.
The stranger wished me well and Ms. Amy drove me across the street.
It was when I went to take the picture of my foot before the nurses fished me out of her car, that I realized I had “the Josephs” on. It was Derek Crimin’s homage to Joseph of the Bible who had his many colored coat and his many many trials to go with it.
There are some who get upset when bad things happen to them, some even more so when they are doing their best to live a good life. I think of Joseph, whose brothers sold him into slavery, was falsely accused of what he was trying to avoid, stayed in prison way too long, because he was forgotten about. And there was my limp foot and ankle being supported by this brightly colored flowered sock with the scripture reference Genesis 37-50. It’s not even a verse, it’s thirteen whole chapters, that’s how crazy Joseph’s life was.
Genesis 39:2 starts off though “And the Lord was with Joseph…”
And the Lord was with me. There’s no other way that I can explain the mostly calm demeanor through all of that. As the medical staff were trying to figure the best way to get me out, I started singing “Glory to God on High,” but only part of it, because I can’t remember the part in between “Praise ye His name” and “Worthy the Lamb.” I told Ms. Amy I should learn that middle bit. He had to be with me, no doubt about it. Ms. Amy came, the stranger came, I got to the hospital and I got my ankle reset without me having to feel it.
And Jer was able to borrow a car and come to the hospital.
Come to find out later, Ms. Amy knew the stranger.
Tender Mercies.
Gratefully with modern medicine, I’ll get plates and screws Wednesday so my bones can heal and my foot can be supported. I’ll do everything I can to get well so I can continue my school assignment. My compassion for those with broken bones has gone up exponentially.
And my socks?
I’ll need to talk to Derek about another pair of socks.
https://www.biblesocks.com/
But these “Josephs” are special: I’ll have to find a place for them on the sock blanket.
