Continued from Part 2
– What if God was putting me on the shelf? What if my secret sins were going to be revealed and I would never be seen as usable in ministry again? What if I would lose everything and even worse, what if I would curse God in my misery? I was trying to be obedient. Yet I had not come to the place He was taking me. Why had he stopped me for two months? What was the significance of two months? Was there a Bible precedence that I did not understand? What was going to take place that it was to my benefit to be out of the way, on the side lines, watching Him work? Was I in obedience?
The physical pain started simply enough. I have had a physical problem in the recent past with a stiff shoulder socket. I had been taught specific exercises and used them to loosen it and rapidly return to normal use. As I employed the stretches to relieve the aggravation this time, something went horribly wrong. It hurt instantly and was unrelenting. The stiffness was not only “not relieved” but was now accompanied by a sharp pain under my right shoulder blade and I found it impossible to take a deep breath. Since I also suffer from a floating rib on my left side, I immediately expected the same thing was happening on the right.
It was of course late on Friday. God’s timing is always perfect. After painful hours of being unable to pop the rib back into socket I made an appointment with a Chiropractor for Monday. The weekend was intensely painful and I could not even attend church.
At the chiropractor’s office, the suspected diagnosis was confirmed and I found temporary relief. But the treatment had to be repeated several, no many, times over the next few weeks. That was the easy part. The real damage came from the pinched nerve which resulted in numbing my right arm and sending shooting pains to different areas of the arm at different times. It was at times excruciating to the point of tears. I cried out loud for relief. I was taking so much medication it began affecting my internal organs. I developed an infection which was resistant and required more than one round of prescription medications to conquer it. Eventually the pain abated somewhat and the body began to heal. So it was a difficult time physically for me.
Oh, did I mention how the strain all of this medical attention was impacting my financial status? None of the medical professionals were donating their efforts pro bono. It was difficult financially.
It was a difficult time for my very supportive family and friends. Mr. Grumpy was not what they needed in their lives at this time. Yet these circumstances were exactly what God knew I needed at this time in my life. I needed to be obedient.
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