Sometimes things don’t work at all as we imagine they will. For weeks I thought about how much better my arm would feel and what a relief it would be to get the cast off. The reality was far different. I was unprepared for the pain once the cast was removed.
Words fluttered like restless butterflies through my mind. Surely there must be something wrong? This couldn’t be right? As though sensing my unspoken fears, the doctor assured me the break was healed, but I could continue to be in pain for some time. It could take up to six months to be right. My hope of getting back to playing tennis any time disappeared like morning mist.
The doctor gave me an exercise to help it called, understandably, a prayer exercise. It involved putting my palms together in a prayer stance, holding my arms up in front of my eyes, and then lowering my hands till my arms rested flat on the table. The first times I tried, I was convinced my arm was about to snap in two as pain shuddered up and down it. I couldn’t even come close to getting my arms parallel with the table. Part of me doubted I ever would. But the doctor assured me it would get easier over time. He advised me to see a physiotherapist to help regain mobility.
In God’s provision we have a physiotherapist near where we live. I made an appointment. When she started work, moving the arm around, the bones made strange clicking sounds. It didn’t sound good. Again pain ripped through my arm. But it seemed I had to go through the pain, to get the arm and wrist used to working again. Along with the prayer exercises, she gave me others to practice several times a day.
I am nothing, if not stubborn. Keeping my eyes on the end result of being able to get back to playing tennis and doing the things I want to do, I practiced and practiced, ignoring the pain. Three days later, I went back and both the physiotherapist and I could see a marked improvement especially in the way I managed the prayer exercise. Mind you, a lot of the real sort of prayer was exercised too.
This time I no longer felt like my arm was going to snap in two. I could actually rest my arms on the table or desk. She gave me a new exercise. At one stage I thought I was going to vomit, as pain shot up my arm. We took a break, a drink of water, some deep breaths and got back to work. We both had a goal – to get my arm working properly.
The incident with my arm, and the pain I experienced, made me think about the way God sometimes has to deal with us. God’s aim is to conform us into the image of His Son, Romans 8:29. In the process that means chipping away or pruning those things that do not belong in our lives, so that will be fruitful, John 15:1-2. That might mean changing aspects of our nature. It could be sins or habits we have acquired. More often than not, that changing or pruning process will be painful.
We have to be willing to allow God to work with those things in our lives that need to be dealt with.
After practicing my exercises, the other day saw great excitement when I was able to open a can. A simple enough task but something I hadn’t been able to do for weeks. A small step to be sure, but in the right direction.
Just like I had to with the physiotherapy exercises, we have to keep our eyes on the end result in our Christian life. Will you allow God this week to deal with those things in your life that need changing? Will you persevere and keep your eyes on the end result of being conformed to the image of Jesus?
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