I Haven't Got Time For The Pain

 

I Haven't Got Time For The Pain

I feel pretty good today! We all have those days when we have our aches. This is from June 6, 2006 along with a youtube clip of the Carly Simon song the title is based on!

This morning, I woke up incredibly sore. On the surface, it didn't make much sense because I work out religiously and haven't changed my routine or frequency. I could barely walk, struggling to get out of bed. I am no doctor but a self-diagnosis pinpointed the cause of my extreme discomfort. Yesterday was the first of our Westbury Christian All-Star Basketball Camps. In the morning session, I was in charge of teaching footwork to kids in grades K-4th. For a half hour, in four minute increments, I very simply worked with little ones on triple threat and HOP-HOP-STOP. Triple threat refers to the bent knee, athletic stance a player should be in while the ball is in his/her possession with options to pass, dribble, or shoot. HOP-HOP-STOP is a little jumping drill I have the children do to show the basics of footwork. If these concepts seem incredibly simple, it's because they are. There are two things five years olds want to do with a basketball: shoot it or bounce it. You have to be creative in teaching what they can absorb. (My favorite footwork illustration? "Who is the greatest superhero basketball player? Spiderman- he never travels!") So what does that have to do with my being partially incapacitated, at least until I loosened up? In teaching these very simple ideas, I had to demonstrate. In demonstrating, I was required to put myself in very simple stances that since I no longer play, I no longer use. In themselves, they are not strenuous but they require activating muscles that have been in the dormancy state. Stretching before and after could have averted much of the problem. However, I detest stretching so I awakened sixteen hours ago temporarily lame.

Our bodies are barometers of our health. As much as we despise hurting, we know it serves as an indicator of problems. It can also indicate we are not very smart in our approach to life. We train the bodies God gave us but mastering them is more difficult. In the scriptures, discipline is associated with what seem to be contradictory terms, pain and love. In Hebrews 12, we are taught that God disciplines his children because he loves them. But what proves love can cause short term pain. Is it worth it when this discipline wakes us up, makes us wiser, and forestalls bigger problems? Without a doubt! The Hebrew writer further adds that this discipline not only proves God's love, it will allow us to share in his holiness! What a trade off, a bearable amount of earthly pain versus eternal kinship with our Heavenly Father! I wish I did a better job remembering that concept when undergoing what seem to be severe trials. Maybe it's just a more spiritual application of my basketball-induced pseudo paralysis: the Lord is just trying to get my attention!

Applicable quote of the day:
"Wisdom is nothing more than healed pain."
Robert Gary Lee

To hear Carly Simon and the song this is based on, copy and paste or click on the link below!
tps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3_l5Ss203I

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1