I must be totally transparent….
This New Year did not begin with bells ringing and me
operating with this great resolve to do better.
Last year ended and this year began with both my mother and grandmother
in the hospital, which honestly took me for a loop. Yes I was praying and encouraging them, but I
was frustrated and disappointed because I could not hop on the plane and “make
things better”.
My emotions have been all over the place and I have
manipulated, searched and tried to make a way to get home. Every time I think that I can figure it out,
it doesn’t pan out the way that I expected.
This year has begun with a lesson for me to trust God! I mean REALLY trust God! My faith is being tested. My husband has been preaching for the last 2
Sundays about “repositioning yourself”.
But it’s not a physical repositioning, but rather a mind thing. Your body only responds to messages, which
are sent by your brain. If the neurons
in your brain don’t fire properly, telling your legs to move, they won’t and
you will be unable to walk. Well the
same thing happens spiritually.
Our mind, which is a constant battlefield of Godly and
earthly thoughts, is set up to govern our feelings and emotions. If we think negatively, the situation outlook
will be negative. But if we begin thinking higher thoughts and believing God’s
promises, we will soon notice that the situation looks a little different,
because our perspective has changed.
Well I must say that
things are looking up! After several
days of searching the Internet for cheap tickets to get home and the cheaper
fares conflicting with a responsibility that I have here at home, I was
emotionally drained. (I don’t want to
say depressed and give it power.)
Nevertheless I was tired and discouraged, but I went to Bible Study
anyway. My husband was talking about
“power in your problems”. I was
reluctant to release my feelings throughout the lesson (sometimes it’s much
easier to hold onto your pain.), but I finally had to give it to God.
What I soon realized was that although I was not physically
present with Mommy, I also was no longer spiritually connected with her. I had stopped praying! When she was in the
hospital or at home in pain, I would call and immediately start praying and
speaking life over the situation. However,
since she has been in Rehab, I have not prayed with her one time. Are you
serious?! I must have thought that now she was in a place where they could help
her, I didn’t have to pray the emergency prayers any longer. No wonder I have been feeling helpless and
hopeless. I had been spiritually
disconnecting myself and working within my own power. I was relying on man to
work the work and make things better through rehab therapy, without realizing it’s the
prayers that enable the man to work the work.
Silly me!
Okay, okay…I get it now God! Trust you, believe on your Word
and continue to speak life. The Bible says in Romans 12:2, “don’t be conformed
to the things of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind”. That simply means that we should
not bend based on our circumstances, but we can change our situation by thinking
higher thoughts and praying prayers of victory.
The Lord showed it to me another way through podiatry…
The plantar fascia is located on the bottom of your foot. It
connects from your heel to the ball of your foot. If you are sitting down, rub the bottom of
your foot and you might be able to feel the “rubber band-like” plantar fascia.
Once that rubber band is stretched and pulled too much by standing with flat
feet, you will begin to feel pain in this area. This condition is called
plantar fasciitis, which is pain and inflammation.
You can take pain meds, stay off your feet and the condition might
improve. However once you get up again
and regain full mobility, you will begin to experience those same pains. Your
podiatrist will tell you that you need to get orthotics. You might be able to get some type of over-the-counter
shoe insert, but the best support is the orthotic that is custom made for your
foot. It’s custom made to accommodate
for every little nuance, ridge and bump on your foot. It is made to be the exact height or incline
for your arch. If made correctly, it
will take your foot, support in the necessary places and realign your
entire body. Not only do your feet
change, but your knees, hips and back all have to adjust, which puts your body
back at center.
That’s all God wants for us!
He desires for us to stop walking barefoot, with no support, which puts
more pressure on the plantar fascia and forces the entire body out-of-whack. Instead God wants to be that custom made
orthotic that supports us and realigns the entire situation. Yes, you can
choose to walk alone and feel the hurt, pain and frustration of things not
going your way; OR you can surrender it to God, allow Him to support you fully
and watch your situation change for the better.
I choose orthotics!
Not only will I choose them for myself, but I will call Mommy every day
in Rehab, pray WITH her and help her to put her orthotics on. I don’t have to be there physically, but I
can be with her in spirit.
So are you ready to take that next step in your life? Okay,
here we go. Sit up in bed, swing your
legs over the edge and get ready to stand. Wait!
Were you about to walk barefoot again?
Did we not just have this conversation?
Get your shoes on, with your orthotics in, and reposition yourself.
Yes!
Yes! You’re up and ready.
Go ahead, take that first step.
Now walk it out….
