God gives grace to the humble: After injuring my leg as a U.S. Marine, God answered my prayer for a miracle
God gives grace to the humble: After a debilitating leg injury shattered U.S. Marine Brittany Taga’s identity as the strongest woman she knew, years of pain, rejection, and pride left her angry at God. After leaving the military and while preparing for a mission trip, she finally dropped her walls of self-reliance and resentment during worship. In that moment of raw humility, God answered her prayer with a miracle, allowing Brittany to walk, run, and freely serve him.
If you enjoy this testimony, you’ll love the book “Faith Storytellers: Unleash the Power of Your Story.”
Brittany Taga served in the U.S. Marines and is thankful that a fellow Marine invited her to church.
By Brittany Taga
I’ve always been one of the strongest women I know. That’s why I joined the U.S. Marine Corps at 18. As a teen, I didn’t fit in with other girls.
I was freakishly strong and had nicknames like “the Juggernaut.” The military seemed like the perfect place for me to find somewhere I could fit in.
But after a leg injury, I lost the respect of my peers.
In the Marines, weakness is viewed as disgusting.
I was called a cripple, a malingerer, and accused of faking the pain for attention.
I was in constant pain. I couldn’t run. I could barely walk. Doctors spent years trying to fix my leg, but never did.
I didn’t want to leave the military, and since the doctors couldn’t diagnose the problem, I couldn’t be medically separated.
I alternated between canes, crutches, and limping around base for more than three years, stuck being held to the standard of a functional Marine, but without the physical capacity.
I felt ostracized, rejected, and misjudged by everyone, even God.
“How could God let this happen to me, and then just not fix it?” I thought.
I questioned my beliefs. “Does God exist?”
“If God is real, does he hate me as my Marines do? Does God want me to suffer?”
“Why did God yank away my physical strength, my one talent?”
Without my strength, my whole identity was lost.
I prayed for a miracle, God answered with an invitation to church
One day, a Marine named David in my barracks introduced himself. He went to church off base and invited me to go, but I wasn’t interested.
I wasn’t feminine. I didn’t think I would fit with delicate “churchy” women. I didn’t want to be judged.
But David persisted until I went.
To my surprise, I was warmly welcomed and accepted. David transferred to another base later, and I never saw him again.
But I kept going to church, and there I gratefully found a family.
There wasn’t judgment, disbelief, only prayers and encouragement.
I felt Christ’s love through this congregation. I had grown up Christian, but I falsely believed I needed perfect performance to please God.
After attending the church for a year and learning about God’s restoring love, I gave my life to Jesus. I felt a weight lift off of me and felt a new peace.
I stopped caring what other Marines thought about me. For the first time, I felt loved. I didn’t feel fully accepted, but I felt fully loved.
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
Despite my injury, I was determined to serve God on mission
Despite her injury, Brittany Taga served as a missionary in the World Race after finishing her enlistment with the U.S. Marine Corps.
I survived the remaining three years of my enlistment and was honorably discharged, and turned to the mission field.
Five years after injuring my leg, I attended a training camp to prepare for the World Race — a mission trip that would take me to 11 countries in 11 months.
Despite the trip being physically challenging, I wanted to go anyway. I still had my tenacity as a Marine, drive to overcome, and a desire to do something worthwhile.
For me, I wanted to experience the global church far more than I wanted to avoid my pain.
To prepare, we camped in the muddy Georgia dirt. We took cold bucket showers, ate foreign foods, and went backpacking.
We were training spiritually as well: Listening to speakers, worshiping with music, and learning about mission life.
One day, a week in, the familiar agony stabbed my leg during worship. I limped to the back wall, sliding to the floor, rubbing my tangibly deformed leg.
I remained calm externally, but internally launched into an angry tirade at God.
“Why God? Why! I’m trying to serve you! Why am I still suffering this pain?”
The worship team sang the words “Jesus come through the walls” repeatedly.
"How stupid is that?” I thought. “It would be so weird to ask Jesus to walk through a wall; it’s creepy.”
Then I paused.
“No,” I thought. “The lyrics were an invitation to him to come through the walls of our hearts. Do I have any walls around my heart?”
How do I how do I humble myself before God?
I leaned back against the cold, hard wall and closed my eyes. I had long put up walls against God.
I still resented my physical weaknesses. My disgusting weakness. I hated myself for it.
I was proud. And ashamed. Deeply ashamed. I knew I was too proud to be vulnerable. I reject it.
Admit that I’m weak, inside and out? I was too self-reliant to say I couldn’t do something, to admit I needed God’s help.
I took a forced breath. And I acknowledged my walls to God.
I felt a lightness in my spirit.
My tense jaw relaxed. I exhaled deeply as I opened up and exposed my vulnerable heart to God. I let go of the angry self-rejection.
In my mind's eye, I imagined how amazing it would be if I opened my eyes and saw Jesus squatting down by my feet and touching my leg.
I wanted miraculous healing, but I brushed the thought aside.
I resigned myself to accepting the intimacy of Jesus in my suffering. Even if my leg always hurts, I would still let him in.
I would trust God not to reject me or resent my weaknesses. I would embrace his gracious acceptance.
I don’t have to prove myself: God gives grace to the humble
Sighing, I opened my eyes, leaning forward to rub my leg.
Then stopped.
My leg had felt deformed for the last five years. Now, it felt smooth. Solid. Normal.
“What!” I thought.
I spent a solid minute poking and grabbing my leg. It was fine.
In shock, I began crying. Then I walked — without limping! — to find a camp mentor to share what happened.
It had to be a miracle!
Nobody laid a finger on me. Nobody was praying for my healing. I didn’t feel any zing or tingle.
Suddenly, I could run, climb, and carry things again! I could go on a mission.
My doctors were stunned. Emotions welled in their eyes when I saw them next.
They’d never been able to find what was causing the pain; they were always grasping at straws to treat me, and felt moved.
I don’t know why God healed my leg, while others haven’t received miraculous healing. It’s incredibly humbling.
I had spent years pleading with God to take the pain away, and he chose to heal me while I was arguing with him. I joke that God force-fed me humble pie, but in truth, he knew exactly what I needed. A good father always does.
I don’t need to prove myself exceptional to God to be accepted. He already loved me; I just needed to embrace his acceptance.
Brittany Taga is a writer and mother-to-be, a former staff writer for Freedom Sisters Magazine, a Marine Corps veteran, and runs 4thebroken.com. She is a Tolkien and Lewis enthusiast, an amateur apologist, and enjoys long scenic drives along Colorado’s Western Slope. When she isn’t in Colorado, she is in Albania visiting family. She lives in Grand Junction, Colorado, with her husband, their Siberian Husky Shinobi, their cat Sasuke, and her baby boy on the way.
Read more stories about how God gives grace to the humble
Faith Storytellers’ mission is to lift up and share the story God is writing in the world — one faith story at a time! We’d love for you to join our community of Faith Storytellers by joining our newsletter. We’ll share new stories, writing prompts, and calls for story submissions. No story is seemingly too small to honor God!
This post contains affiliate links. By using these links to make a purchase, you’re helping Faith Storytellers continue to share inspiring stories of God’s work in the world. You’re also supporting Carrie’s mission of encouraging mothers of special needs children.
God gives grace to the humble: After a debilitating leg injury shattered U.S. Marine Brittany Taga’s identity as the strongest woman she knew, years of pain, rejection, and pride left her angry at God. After leaving the military and while preparing for a mission trip, she finally dropped her walls of self-reliance and resentment during worship. In that moment of raw humility, God answered her prayer with a miracle, allowing Brittany to walk, run, and freely serve him.