I got up this morning at 4:30…just like I normally do…and was getting ready to go through my morning routine. Everything seemed normal…UNTIL...I put my left foot on the floor and applied pressure to it!
WHAM…a sharp pain shot up through my leg, up through my back, and felt like it blew the top of my head off! I thought, “What in the world was that?” But then I quickly dismissed it and began to walk towards to kitchen.
WHAM…another sharp pain! Before I knew it I was limping all over the house…I looked so ridiculous! I finally made it to my study and read my Bible and prayed…all the while knowing that I was going to have to try to stand up again.
And then I had this thought, “With this kind of pain…do I go to the gym?” I was torn…I didn’t know what this was…but the thought of not going to the gym was killing me.
I stood up and the pain was still there, although not as strong. I decided to go ahead and go. I would have to alter my workout just a little—I had planned to run this morning…but with whatever was going on inside my foot I knew that wasn’t possible.
“But,” I thought, “I can still do the bike…there are some things I can do…so instead of letting this minor inconvenience, this unplanned problem stop me from what I want and need to do…I will make some minor adjustments and get on with it.”
Isn’t that how life is?
Things seem to be going along just fine and then all of a sudden—WHAM—sharp pain comes our way. Oh, it comes our way in various ways—we go through a break-up, we lose our job, get a bad grade on an exam, get an unexpected medical report…and, well—you could probably add to this list.
Pain is inevitable in life—it’s going to come our way. I am not being pessimistic…I’ve just been alive long enough to know that the unexpected will take place…the painful unexpected.
AND when that happens we have a decision—do we sit around for the rest of our lives and talk about the pain? Do we bore people to death with our stories about what our life was like before the pain? Do we get angry with God because of the pain HE caused? (Isn’t it always somehow HIS fault?) Do we tell others that the reason our life is so screwed up is because of that ONE thing that happened in our past?
OR…
Do we make the adjustments that the pain requires us to make and get on with life?
Yes, pain does hurt. And yes, pain does cause us to need to make adjustments…but pain should never stop us from living. I heard a phrase a long time ago that has helped me a lot in this area—God chooses what we go through—and we choose how we go through it.
I’ve learned this lesson—please don’t think I am trying to come across as a mean spirited guy who is telling you to get on and stop your crying. I’ve dealt with this head on and I can say that you can either live in the pain of your past or in the possibilities that lie in your future.
Once again—pain hurts…but it should not STOP us from living…it should cause us to want to live more. Let’s get on with it…and allow God to take that pain and use us to shape our lives into something that makes His name famous.
And yes…my workout went great…my foot has eased up…now it’s my knee…(see—it’s always something!)