Update:
I’m working through sore muscles and a slight rash on my leg. I figured out what caused the rash and I’ve
taken steps to allow it to heal. Then on
Thursday night, my silicone liner started to chaff a bit at the top edge; I
took it off as soon as I figured out what was happening. My leg felt better instantly. I’ve increased the time I can wear it
substantially; but I obviously need to be careful not to push it too far too
fast. Slow and steady wins the
race.
I am not certain exactly what has caused my sore muscles since I added
some new exercises and increased the number of repetitions and resistance on
some others. I want to keep working at
strengthening my muscles, but I also need to be careful not to overdo it and
injure myself when I am so very close to walking again. So while I want to push forward, I’ll have to
ease off and take it a bit easier.
Sounds easy enough, but this racehorse wants to run!!!
Along with the weather, Dick Krueger and my son, Jon, got the ice removed
on my ramp, sidewalk and part of the driveway so I am able to get out on my own
and go places again. That’s good because
I need to get a few errands done and spend some time working at the church on
Friday. Thanks, guys! I am extremely grateful for the warmer
weather, so that I am not housebound by snow and ice. Thank you, God!
On Thursday night, I spent an hour at the county jail sharing my
testimony with 15 men. Wilford said I
did a good job. Sometimes after I speak,
I think to myself, “I should have said this” or “I forgot to mention
that.” Last night I didn’t have any of
those regrets afterwards. So either I
did a good job or I am totally unaware of reality. Mmmm??
Thought for the Day:
One of my new daily routines is foot and stump care. Each day I need to carefully look over my
stump and my remaining foot for any signs of sores or wounds of any kind. If I have any unusual pains or redness I need
to carefully watch the site and call in my observations. Catching things early before much damage is
done speeds up the treatment and healing process. I am certain it would be an entertaining
video to watch me trying to get the light just right while using a mirror to
see the bottom of my foot and in between my toes.
Pain is usually our first line of defense against aggravating an
injury. Your foot begins to hurt and you
realize that you’ve got a rock in your shoe that needs to be removed. Our bodies are programed to automatically
respond to pain at certain levels. Touch
something hot and you jerk your hand back and immediately want to treat the
burn to stop the pain. When you sprain
your ankle, it creates enough pain that we naturally stay off the foot as much
as possible giving it time to heal. If
you think about it, even the symptoms of a cold or flu serve the purpose of
forcing you to get the rest you need so that your body can heal. Pain is a good thing.
John Maxwell says, “People
change when they hurt enough that they have to, learn enough that they want to, or receive enough that they are able to.”
Without pain, we won’t change. Sometimes we will wishfully sit and dream
about how things would be better if they were different; but we usually won’t
actually do anything about it until we are hurting bad enough to force a
change. That’s true whether it is a
physical difficulty, relationship trouble, or emotional problem. Unless there is enough pain to force us to
cry out; we don’t do anything to change and find relief. So thank God for pain. It is an effective early warning system and a
great motivator for improvement.
Matthew 8:2-3 A man
with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are
willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing,"
he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.
Leprosy was a scourge in biblical times. One aspect of the disease is that it affects
the nerve endings so that people cannot feel pain, resulting in sores and
wounds that went unattended to an alarming degree. Fearing the spread of the disease, lepers
were cast out of society; unable to interact with others socially. They were restricted from living in town and
having free contact with others. If they
ventured outside of their compound, they were required to loudly announce, “Unclean! Unclean!” so that people would not be exposed
to the disease accidentally. No church.
No family visits. No physical touch to comfort or console. Just isolation and distance from everything
and everybody along with a disfiguring disease that was without cure. It was a sad, hopeless situation to be in.
One of the startling things about Jesus’ ministry to lepers He
encountered is that He touched them. It
easily could have been years since they had been physically touched by any
one. Without fear and with great
compassion Jesus reaches out and puts a hand of comfort upon them. Wow! That had to be a wonderful blessing to
them. It is especially powerful picture
of compassion when you remember that Jesus didn’t have to touch them. He could have cleansed them from a distance with
a word (in fact He did in Luke 17:12).
But Jesus cared deeply for those who were hurting and helpless and
needed the assistance that only He could offer.
So to wrap this up… Pain is our
friend because it motivates us to change and to find healing. It encourages us grow and develop and not
accept the status quo. Pain often will
almost force us to cry out to God for relief because often there is no other
place that we can turn to for help. As
we draw closer to God we find that He is compassionate upon those who call to
Him. You may currently be a position
where it seems that there is no hope and no way out. You may feel trapped and be without
resources.
They say the “necessity is the mother of invention” and “pain is the
motivation for change.” I encourage you
to listen to your pain and allow it to create a desire and even the necessity
to make some changes for the better in your life. If you are wise you will listen to the little
whispers of pain and not wait until pain is shouting to get your
attention. Don’t automatically reject
pain and don’t be satisfied with merely covering over the symptoms—get to the
cause and find a cure.
No comments:
Post a Comment