A few months ago, while running, I felt a pull in my left hip joint. I kept going as the pain was tolerable and I chalked it up to just pushing myself a little too much and the fact I’m getting old 🙂 But in the days that followed the pain increased. To sit or stand became painful. I had to discontinue running as walking became a challenge at times. I finally decided I should have it checked out and went to the chiropractor.
He knew right away there had been an injury due to the scar tissue that had already formed. He told me, “You’ll need to stretch and break up the scar tissue to regain flexibility.” He gave me a list of stretches to do and there were several visits that followed. I’m excited to say that in the last couple weeks, I’ve been able to slowly begin running again. While I’m working my way back to where I was, there is no pain…well other than that of being sore from exercise. As I was running a few days ago I was reminded how our spiritual bodies are the same as our physical bodies in dealing with pain.
Our spirit can be damaged, hurt and weary…scar tissue begins to form and we have a choice to make. We can allow the pain to cripple us or we can begin the process of healing. Honestly, some of the stretches my chiropractor gave me to do brought tears to my eyes when doing them…they were PAINFUL! But I knew if I kept at it, I would get there and become stronger. The same goes for our spiritual health…you may have to endure pain on your journey to healing but once you get there, you’ll be so much stronger. Pain is a part of this life but how we choose to deal with it will determine the level of strength we obtain.
It takes strength to serve, strength to lead, strength to watch your words, strength to guard your heart and strength to live a life of righteousness. It’s easy to get comfortable in your pain and allow the scar tissue to build up around your heart. The problem with that is everything you do flows from your heart so if your heart isn’t healthy, nothing else you do will be healthy. When you experience pain, make a commitment to stretch your faith muscles, stretch your trust muscles…seek wisdom and understanding to deal with your pain in a healthy way and on the other side of it, your strength and capacity will expand to a level enabling you to effectively do ALL that God has prepared for you to do!
Erin L.A. Jones 