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The gym reverberates with the shrieks of screaming fans, as the bleachers pulsate with the foot-stomping rhythm of a sideline cheer. Forty seconds remain on the clock, with the score tied. The home team inbounds the ball from beneath their opponent’s basket, and the visiting team rushes to the press, fighting to keep a petite, lightning-quick brunette from crossing the half-court line before ten seconds can elapse.

They fail.

Dribbling behind her back and around a well-placed pick, the skilled point guard glances toward her coach and then signals the designated play to her teammates. It is the play that will win the game. A three-pointer gracefully arcs toward the hoop in silence. The home team fans erupt in celebration.

The point guard is Rachel Nemmers, and Rachel is deaf.

Rachel was the fourth child born to Mike and Linda Nemmers. When Rachel was six months old, her mother became suspicious that Rachel might not be hearing clearly. With the permission of medical professionals, Mrs. Nemmers waited until Rachel fell deeply asleep one day, then she banged pots and pans together as loudly as she could directly above the baby’s head. Rachel never even twitched.

Rachel’s parents were told by doctors at the famous Mayo Clinic that their daughter was profoundly deaf. During Rachel’s testing, doctors had produced sounds equal to a 747 jet taking off inside the sound booth, but Rachel had heard nothing. The Nemmers were introduced to educational specialists who came into their home and later took Rachel to a special school to help both Rachel and her family learn how to deal with her deafness.

Then, when she was three years old, Rachel’s parents made a life-changing decision for their daughter. They chose to have a device implanted in her brain and ear that would make it possible to receive sounds and to learn to decode those sounds as speech. For the past fourteen years this cochlear implant has given Rachel the ability to hear sounds and relate to people through those sounds.

Rachel and her parents have always considered her deafness to be simply one of the unique characteristics God has given her to make her life more interesting—like her award-winning abilities in art, her remarkable skill in basketball, her compassion for hurting people, and her gracious spirit as a pastor’s daughter and sister to four brothers (including twin boys) and one older sister.

Perhaps one of the most remarkable things about Rachel is that she doesn’t consider herself remarkable.

When you ask Rachel about overcoming her deafness, she squirms, not exactly certain what you mean.

“ God is awesome and He created me deaf. He created different people different ways—deaf, blind, retarded. He uses everything about the way He made me.”

She’s always viewed her deafness as having a purpose. Even her parents can’t remember a time when Rachel questioned God or became angry. Instead, she and her family have chosen to see her deafness as a gift from God—not one they would have initially chosen, but one that’s been good.

Through her deafness Rachel and her family have witnessed to doctors, deaf friends, the families of other deaf individuals, educational professionals, and friends and neighbors. And people have come to accept Christ, both through Rachel’s testimony and the testimony of her family. Eighty percent of the parents of children with physical handicaps divorce, according to some studies, so Pastor Mike and Linda Nemmers have been given an extra mission field outside the church where they serve.

Rachel speaks; she signs; she reads lips. Most of all, she communicates her commitment to Jesus Christ. She has found her voice in the silence, and it speaks gracefully to a watching world. Not only because of who God made Rachel to be, but because of who she is becoming by allowing Him to mold her.

Sidebar
Challenges stare us in the face every day—some bigger and more intense than others. Discouragement. Rejection. Crumbling relationships. Physical suffering. Some nag at our daily routines, while others careen into our lives with the power of a derailed train. But no matter what our challenges may be, God’s Word offers hope that surpasses anything we can see or feel. That hope can be found in the truth God gives us in His Word. The next time you’re faced with a challenge, begin by committing to the truth.

Commit to telling yourself the truth about Who God is. Relying on God’s sovereignty, His power to control every aspect of our lives, is the only way to find success in the challenges we face. His purpose is to use every circumstance to teach us more about Him and to make us more like His Son, Jesus Christ. If you’re facing tough times, the starting point is to assure yourself that God is in control and you can fully trust His love for you. Know that Satan’s purpose in your challenges is to make you doubt God’s sovereignty and love for you. Romans 8:28 tells us, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

Commit to telling yourself the truth about who you are as a child of God. Satan works overtime trying to gain a foothold in our thought patterns. One of his strategies is to make us feel worthless and unloved. Use Scripture to remind yourself that you are valued, loved, and cherished by the creator of the universe. Through Jesus’ death and the power of the Holy Spirit, the Father has equipped you with a spiritual arsenal that can obliterate the forces of Satan. Arm yourself with Scriptures that assure you of who you are in Christ, such as Ephesians 1:3, 11 and12, and 17–20.

Commit to walk in the truth. John 8:32 tells us that knowing the truth will set us free. But the word "know" in this passage means to experience the truth. It’s only as we walk in obedience to God’s truth that we can live with purpose and freedom. The truth we put into practice, based upon the character of God and our position as His children, will be the truth that sets us free to live above our circumstances.