Friday, November 12, 2010

Change is Good

Once again I am trusting my left shoulder into the hands of a capable and compassionate therapist. Accumulated tension combined with a hard fall I took this summer while chasing a batted softball combined to mess something up in there. Today was my first full session. Our goal is a total return to normal functioning. This will require exercise 2-3 times a day for me and two sessions with her each week.

Though gentle, she is pushing my joint beyond where it has wanted to go. "We have a saying," she said as she twisted my arm back. "'The place of comfort is the place deformity.'"

Isn't that the case in most things? Whether in relationships or spirituality or physical routine, we naturally seek the place of least pain. We get hurt and we protect ourselves. We get lazy and we accept an unhealthy routine. While this feels managable ond even pleasurable, it results in "deformity" of soul, body, and mind. Left to ourselves we often seek the path of least resistance while thinking we are making the most progress. Becuase of this we need to "prompt each other to love and good deeds" (Hebrews 10:24).

We also need to be gentle with each other because we are dealing with sometimes long-standing issues. My therapist says, "This will make you sore for a while because we're working to break loose things that have gotten stuck." I appreciate her use of "we." She knows by experience what I need and is committed to my best. I can't think of a better definition of a friend.

1 comment:

Jeremy said...

That's true. When I get stuck somewhere, I get unhealthy, lethargic, sedate. It's those times when don't grow like we should. Uncomfortable stretches are, well, uncomfortable, but they are exactly what I need to truely grow.

Enjoyed the post!