Yesterday, I awoke to excruciating back pain. My first response as I attempted to get out of bed was to scream. Just above my lumbar vertebrae, I felt an indescribable pain. It did not pulsate, radiate from a point… it just was. As I lay flat on my bed, I wondered how I could get through the day. After gulping down 400mg of Ibuprofen, I roused myself, got dressed and went to work. I sat in that office chair for 4 hours, immovable.
Then came the nausea. The soup I’d eaten the night before graced the floor of my bedroom. Not to mention the Red Vines I had eaten 5 minutes before… I may just avoid foods with Red #5 from now on…
Now as I lay on my back in bed, typing this, I want to praise God for blessing me with this strong, straight back. It has served me well these 21 years. I cannot complain or curse God when I have mornings like that- just as I cannot call my hearing-impairment a curse or an impediment.
I’m beyond the question of “Why would a just God allow pain to exist?” The real question is “do accept this pain with the same grace with which I accept a gift?”
This passage is only peripherally related:
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
-1 Peter 4:12-13
SOLI DEO GLORIA!
Arrianna Planey's Blog 