I had a rough week last week. My IBS was in high gear again. I had lots of discomfort and it brought my mood down. No, let me be honest. It wasn’t discomfort. That’s like a doctor saying, “This is going to be a little uncomfortable.” You’ve all been there, haven’t you? It wasn’t uncomfortable, it was painful. Have you ever had severe cramping from the flu? Well, imagine something like that on a regular basis.
And can I just say, I hate not feeling one hundred percent?
One of the Psalms I read last week was all about this very thing. It’s one of my favorites for when I’m having a bad day. So reread it every day last week.
The psalmist asks, “Hey, soul, why are you so upset?” (Verses 5 & 11) (My translation)
And then the responsibility for my soul’s well-being is laid clearly on my own shoulders. That part I don’t like.
“Hope in God for I will praise him once again. Remember what God has done.” (Verses 6 & 11)
“Hope”, and “remember”. Two great words.
When we remember how God has delivered us in the past, we have hope for the future.
That doesn’t mean we don’t or even shouldn’t hate times of pain. Who would even suggest that?
And I don’t think it means we have to label our sufferings as somehow “holy”. The truth is that most of us don’t have “holy” pain. I get very weary of followers of Christ downplaying pain. Seems to me Christ didn’t. Sweating tears of blood certainly indicate anguish to me.
We are human begins first and just because we are followers of Christ doesn’t mean we don’t suffer; this same Christ whom we follow certainly did. His disciples certainly did.
We all have to find our way to cope when it comes to our struggles. For me, hope meant I went on with my day and worked around my pain the best I could. It meant I examined what I’ve been eating or haven’t been eating. It meant I rested more. (Which I hate by the way. My boredom level is pretty low.)
But I constantly reminded myself that as long as I live, hope exists. It’s up to me to talk to my soul and tell it to hope. It’s up to me to remember God’s faithfulness.
Thank goodness, I’m feeling better but I’m kind of holding my breath. I’ve been here before. But that’s the thing about life. We either learn to roll with the punches or we’re going to get run over. (I looked for some funny images to insert here and oh, my gosh, some were so graphic they turned my stomach, so I just quit looking. I’ll let your imagination come up with something funny.)
God bless and have a good day. I’m hoping I do.
