Pain Management or A Cure

Greetings Dear Reader,

As I have aged I have acquired some lasting physical damage along the journey.  I do not with this to sound like a complaint but rather background.  About five years ago I took a fall on the ice and dislocated a shoulder.  It still hurts every day.  Many years ago one of my fingers was bent the wrong way and I feel a stiffness settling into it that is permanent.  Last Spring I took a spill and did some damage to my knee.  It is stiff and a bit painful every morning.

There is no equitable cure for these pains.  Those chronic pains are mine now and I manage them well enough.  Heat helps the shoulder most days.  The knee just needs a little exercise in the mornings.  Wearing good shoes helps too.  The finger just needs a little stretching after too much typing.  Reaching for the letter “Y” can be difficult. 

If for some reason I were offered a cure for them all that would not endanger my health in another way I would take it.  I manage the pain well enough without drugs but if there were a cure I would embrace it.  I refuse to become one of those old people who defines life through the pains and issues of growing older.

I wonder why then to I sometimes manage my sin instead of taking the cure of faith and following.  I will try to mitigate the guilt and shame of my wrongs through rationalization and justification.  Instead I could embrace the truth and be freed from the wrong by God’s grace.  Since every sin is a choice, why do I remain in the pain of that sin?  Why do I refuse sometimes to see the way out and take it?

There is grace sufficient for all my sin.  There is mercy and forgiveness in abundance.  There is deeper joy and ease of following as I accept that there is a cure for my spiritual pains.  I need only avail myself of the opportunity.  I need to not manage the pain and accept the healing.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Come as You Are – There’s a Bug Going Around

Greetings Dear Reader,

How often do you watch a cold or flu make the rounds in a family, friends, or work group?  Comments like “you gave me your cold” become common.  One sneezes or coughs and others draw back.  Worse still are things like the current Ebola scare.  We fear this unseen plague that seems to have little hope of a cure.

Summer of S.A.R.S.

We also deny the plague that exists in all of us.  We deny the depth of healing and help we need.  We do not see that our souls a so very ill.  Now imagine someone who embraces the sick.  Ponder someone who does not care how sick you are they will still take you in their arms and give you the rest and comfort you need.

My Daughter, Christmas commented that my last few posts have seen more emotional that methodical.  She is correct.  The emotions are sorrow, passion, compassion, and urgency.  I always write from the heart but do not always leave it as raw as this particular venture.

My sense of urgency is that those around me have an illness that only Christ can cure.  Whether it is physical, emotional, or spiritual there is no infliction that Christ cannot heal.  That does not mean everything gets healed instantly.  It does mean that whilst we heal there is comfort, hope, and solace.

I want to despair at times over my Son’s current distress.  I want to despair over the pain my Daughter in Law is in both emotional and spiritual.  I want to give up hope over my own loneliness for things I have lost and may never recover. 

I will not.  The depth of comfort there is in Christ is what keeps me on the journey.  When I want to sit down in weariness he gives me rest.  When I want to drown in despair he lifts me above the mire. How can I not face the raw emotion that is available when it is filled with hope and awe at who Christ is. 

No matter how infected I am I can come to Christ and he will embrace me.  He will give me solace, comfort, and rest.  I can come as I am.  So can you Dear Reader.    

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)