Jesus has said that in this world, we will have trouble. But to take heart, He has overcome the world.
As I lay in bed this week with stomach flu, I once again felt trapped by the frailty of my body, and there were moments when I could not move for fear of my body’s reaction. While stuck lying in bed, feeling empathy for what my friend has been through, I felt prompted to pray for a friend who has been confined to bed for a year now and prayed that God’s healing hand would be upon her.
As for me, I know I will recover quickly, although my energy is gone for the moment. God has created us with self-healing bodies, and short of some drastic inference in that process, I knew that in a few days, my temporal body would be able to do all the things I want it to do.
Although I missed out on three appointments and the celebration dinner that I had organized for my husband’s birthday and our anniversary, I know there will be other appointments and celebrations.
So often, I have felt trapped in my body where things have been out of balance. I can be in a place where I look around in this earthly realm for an answer, a way forward. I do all that I can in the areas I know: exercise, rest, right thinking, nutrition, prayer, gratitude, and acceptance.
At times, I have struggled with acceptance. Why can things not be different? When will it be my time? What about me?
Fighting whatever is going on can be counterproductive, however. A coach I saw compared acceptance to going down a river and being caught by your pack (or burden) on a log or a stick where the waves are the most intense and can overwhelm and drown you.
Last year, I learned about river crossings and how to get out of your pack if you got stuck. The exercise went as follows: First, we went to the rapidly flowing part of the river, and a man released us into the stream to float down to the next man. He caught me and asked my permission to turn me over. The leader had instructed us on what to do. We had already undone the shoulder buckle, and when we turned face down, we were to release the waist buckle and raise our arms above our heads. Then we would float free.
Unfortunately, I forgot to release the buckle the first time I did it, so I was face-down in the frigid water for longer than I should’ve been. They advised me to do the exercise again, and by the second time, I was shivering with cold and freezing, as it was mid-winter. Free of the encumbrance of the pack, however, I could float down the river to a place where the water was calm and get out safely.
Acceptance helps us to move to those calm places more quickly.
The pack could be compared to a burden, perhaps an offense. And as we let go of our burdens, whatever is going on will pass more quickly, whether it is emotional distress or physical.
I encourage you to be kind to yourself, no matter what you are going through, and begin practicing ‘releasing’ those burdens so you don’t drown in sorrow, depression, or other emotions that are threatening to weigh you down.
Join my characters, Sara and Ezekiel, in the Love Series as they navigate the joys and burdens of life. mybook.to/TheLoveSeries
Romans 8:1 So now the case is closed, there remains no accusing voice of condemnation against those who are joined in life-Union with Jesus, the Anointed one.