For Thine is the Kingdom

Young Courtney Vincent has the makings of a wonderful ballerina, and she knows it. After rehearsing at Whit's End for her big ballet program, she hurries off on her bike, dreaming of one day joining a national tour. But she is nervous and running late, and she pedals into the street without using the crosswalk. Whit shouts a warning, but it is too late - a car hits her.

Courtney wakes up in the hospital with her leg in traction. She has fractured her knee, and Dr. Morton wants to wait for x-rays and tests before saying more. When the results come back, the news is hard: the damage to the bone and ligaments is permanent. With time and therapy Courtney will walk without much of a limp, but her knee will never endure the rigors of ballet again. Courtney hears the doctor tell her parents, but she refuses to believe it. She is a ballerina, and she is sure that hard work, therapy, and prayer will fix everything.

Her friend Jenny, who is blind, understands. When Jenny lost her sight, she too kept believing it would come back if she worked hard enough or prayed. Meanwhile, Whit quietly programs something special for Courtney in his newest invention, the Room of Consequence.

Months later, Courtney finishes her therapy and walks without a limp. Convinced she is healed, she puts on her ballerina outfit at home and tries a pirouette in the kitchen - and falls, hurting her knee again. Heartbroken, she finally faces the truth: she will never be a ballerina. At Whit's End she asks the hardest questions. She prayed, so why didn't God heal her? Whit gently explains that God can heal anything, but that doesn't mean He always will, and that giving us exactly what we want isn't always the mark of true love. He shares Romans 8:28 - everything works together for good for those who love God - and invites her into the Room of Consequence to peek at possible futures.

Inside, Courtney sees what her life could become if she clings to her bitterness. Two years ahead, Jenny sadly tells her the other kids don't want to be around her anymore because all she talks about is the accident. Further on, her worried parents pray for a college-age Courtney who has never forgiven God for wrecking her plans. Later still, Whit himself grieves over a grown Courtney who has let bitterness swallow up her gifts. Then the visions change. In a church filled with beautiful organ music, a pastor named Dean Jackson tells a visitor about his wife, a gifted musician who gave up an earlier dream, let God lead her down some interesting paths, and now touches lives in a way only music can. When he introduces his wife - Courtney - the young Courtney realizes she has just met the person she could become.

Back in the shop, Whit explains that she saw only possibilities. God controls events, but we control how we respond to them. We are like actors on a stage who can't see the whole play - only the Author knows how the story turns out, so we must play our scene with the best attitude and faith we can. Courtney's job now is to give herself time, pray, and let God take her on a wonderful adventure.