The ART of Pain

Not to long ago, a friend of mine recommended I see an ART specialist for some severe back pain I was having.  If you’re not familiar with ART, it stands for active release technique and it’s practiced by only a small number of professionals across the country, many of them chiropractors.

During an ART session, the practitioner will apply pressure to the areas of the body that cause pain.  The idea is to influence adhesions to release so that mobility can be restored and pain can go away.  I’m probably butchering that description and ART specialists will now send me hate mail, but at least that’s what I understood it to be.

During my first visit to the office, I sat in the waiting room not knowing what to expect.  I was halfway through a painfully boring magazine when I heard a woman scream from the Dr’s office, “OWWWW!  LORD HAVE MERCY!!!  It didn’t exactly give me a warm fuzzy feeling about being treated.  When they called my name, I wanted to run!

I was ushered into a changing room where I had to strip down to my undershirt and a pair of shorts.  From there, I stepped into the Dr’s office where there was a very masochistic looking table in the middle of the room that he jokingly called “the rack”.  Oh boy…

When I got on the table, the Dr asked me about my mobility and where it hurt.  When I told him, he waved his assistant over and gave him some instructions.  This is where the fun (err..torture) began.  The assistant proceeded to pull my leg back in an unnatural direction while the Dr dug his hands deep into the most painful parts.  I thought, “Holy crap!!  What have I gotten myself into?!”

There I was laying on my side, leg being stretched behind me like he was trying to tear off a crab leg and the ART Dr was digging, with both hands, full force into the part of my leg that’s uncomfortably close to the groinal reagion.  (I made the word “groinal” up, but you get the picture.)

It hurt like crazy, and all I could do was lay there, eyes watering, holding back the urge to yell like the woman who was in here before me.

After what felt like forever, he was done.  He extended his hand and helped me off the table.  I was a little light headed from the pain, but he was done.  You know what else?  I felt better.  For the most part anyway.

It made me think though.  (If it didn’t, I wouldn’t be writing about it.)  How many times have I been in this place with God?

Sometimes our lives get off kilter.  We allow thought patterns, attitudes, offenses, and just junk into our lives, and before we know it, we’re walking kind of funny.  Maybe not enough for the whole world to notice, but slightly off.  This small hobble eventually effects our decisions and can lead us away from being who God made us instead of towards.

When this happens, I usually see God work in me much like the ART Dr.

First, He strips me.  My cool exterior gets peeled back to reveal the guy inside who doesn’t have it all together.  I’m exposed, naked, and I have to make an honest confession to someone in my life.

Next, He instructs me.  The Dr told me to lay on my side.  Sometimes God will instruct me to read a passage, say a prayer, get help from my accountability partner, make apologies, and so on.  It’s important to follow God’s instructions or the next part can hurt even worse than it needs to or, even worse, you won’t complete the process fully and the needed restoration won’t come.

Third, He stretches me and digs deep into the wounded areas of my life.  Having a bruise poked at, scab peeled off, or deep wound addressed sucks.  There’s no other way to put it.  Allowing God to shape us and heals us requires doing things we may have never done before.  It can get extremely uncomfortable.  You feel like an eye without a lid, vulnerable and insecure, but The Doctor knows what He’s doing and we can trust Him no matter how bad it hurts and no matter how much we want to run back to our comfortable baggage.  Let Him do His work in you so you can get to the last part.

Lastly, He helps me off the table and tells me it’s going to be all right.  It’s an amazing experience when we feel the arm of God around our shoulders.  He’s proud of us when we endure the pain needed to be corrected, adjusted, healed, restored.  We quickly forget the pain and just love and trust the one who helps us to walk like Him.  I write this with tears of gratitude for all the times He’s given me His hand, helped me off the table of painful lessons, honest rebukes, and jarring adjustments.  Every time, He tells me He loves me and that He’s proud of me.  I’m thankful for every one.

Search your heart.  Are you experiencing pain today?  Are you sure God isn’t trying to adjust you?  Is He building character in you, making you more like Him?  Go through it, not around it.  The pain will fade and you’ll experience His joy and blessing.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6

I Got Killed In a Movie

Recently, I had the pleasure of appearing in a micro-budget independent film produced right here in the Quad Cities.  It was directed by David Clevenger of Shepherd King Films, his fourth film.

I had a very small part, but I got to say the best line (I made it up)… then I got killed.  It kind of looks like red snot flying out of my back but it’s supposed to be blood.

Can you spot the line I made up?  Post it in the comments and I’ll tell you if you’re right!  Enjoy this two and a half minute clip featuring my big role…

 

The Most Beautiful Thing

I came across this quote by Albert Einstein the other day and it really hit me…

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.  It is the source of all true art and science.  He who can no longer wonder or stand rapt in awe is as good as dead, a snuffed out candle.

Wow!  How much time have I spent “as good as dead”?  I spend so much time maintaining my life that I hardly take time to appreciate the mysterious, to get lost in art, or simply be amazed at our awesome God.

What about you?  Have you lost your wonder?  How can we get it back if we lose it?  Please let me know what you think in the comments below.

Another Realm

Every once in a while a CD comes out that just grips me.  My wife doesn’t like it because she tires of the same music more quickly than I do, but since this one arrived a couple of weeks ago, it’s all I want to listen to.

Here in the “Christian ghetto” your options are limited.  You have your standard K-Love stuff, your heavier Skillet-y type music, and a bunch of “we have a great worship team at our church so we’re putting out a CD” stuff.  It’s all good, but there is better out there.

Enter the UK/Irish band Iona, which happens to be my favorite band.  Years ago, their CD “Journey into the Morn” got me started exploring Celtic Christianity, which led me to take several missions trips to IrelandTheir music possesses a depth, color, texture, and richness that is hard to find in any progressive rock. Though not labeled a “worship band” you can’t help but encounter the presence of God at one of their concerts and it’s not unusual to see people kneeling, weeping, or dancing while the band plays.

In terms of sheer musical ability, Iona is amazing.  I want to keep this post short so I’ll just say I’ve never heard another band come close to the musical ability of Iona.  It’s downright inspiring!  As somewhat of a musician myself, they make me want to grow in my isntrument.

Their latest CD, “Another Realm” has grabbed me by the ear and won’t let go.  It’s worshipful, prophetic, and a cry out to God for His Kingdom here on earth.  I’ve been walking with Jesus since 1982 and I’ve honestly never heard anything like it.  I’ve spent many hours walking around my neighborhood listening to “The Ancient Wells” and praying for revival.  We even plan on singing a couple of the songs at our church (as soon as I can figure out how to get permission, of course).  You really don’t listen to this CD, you experience it.

In short, amazing talent + God’s anointing = an incredible CD.  Get it!

Here’s their website, currently the only place you can buy the CD or purchase songs by download.

By the way, this is not an endorsed post.  I just love sharing things that are awesome!

What’s Going On With My Back?!!

Some of my friends have been asking, “Why were you at the neurosurgeon?”  “What’s going on with your back?” so I thought I’d give everyone a rundown of what’s happening, in an attempt to save myself from having to tell the same story over and over.

A high school injury, years of being hunched over a computer, and moving heavy furniture last November have all come together to form “The Perfect Storm” (Cue epic disaster movie music.)

It’s actually not so much of a storm as it is a herniated disc.  What is a herniated disk?  It’s when that soft, cushiony, cartilage-y thing (disc) that sits between two vertebrae gets squashed and bulges out.  In my case, it’s bulging into the spinal canal and putting pressure in the nerves running down my lower back and left leg.  It hurts, but I’m tough 🙂

Last December, I started going to physical therapy and got prayer from anyone willing to lay hands on me.  I seemed to get some relief and bragged on Jesus to my physical therapist.  Then he sent me away and said I was good to go.  It only got worse after that.

The pain increased and traveled down my leg so I decided to find a chiropractor.  I started seeing Drs Andy and Trina Boswell in Rock Island.  They have proven to be massively caring and attentive.  They’ve seriously been a huge blessing in helping me navigate this issue.  I also made a few visits to Dr. Bob Kaminsky in Davenport who practices A.R.T. (Active Release Technique).  Experiencing A.R.T. is a lot like being tortured.  You sprawl out on a table while one person stretches you in uncomfortable positions and the other person digs his hands deep into the places on your body that hurt the worse.  You may find yourself wanting to scream obscenities, shout out to God, cry, or all three at once.  It’s painful, but brings results.

Eventually, my Family Practice Doctor sent me for an MRI (see below) so that we could get a definitive answer as to what was happening and why I wasn’t getting better.  THAT’S when we found out it was a herniated disc.

After seeing the MRI, my Family Practice Doctor sent me to see a neurosurgeon for a consultation.  I can’t say it was a great experience.  We waited for an hour and a half for about five minutes of his time.  He showed us the MRI, then shared my four options: do nothing and it might get better, take an oral steroid, get a localized steroid injection, or get surgery.  When I told him I wanted the least invasive treatment possible, he gave me a prescription for oral steroids, asked if I had any questions, and excused himself.  He had no advice for me, I didn’t get any answers, and I never took the steroids.

So, I’m taking the difficult route of doing nothing (medically).  I’ve set up a way to work while laying down (getting out of that desk chair has made a big difference).  I’m using an inversion table.  I’m taking a handful of herbal remedies and have adjusted my diet to include less inflammatory foods.  And I’ve also reduced my workout to just walking every day.

I have noticed improvements, but I still have a long way to go.  Thank you all so much for your prayers!  I can’t wait to wrestle you all when I’m better!!

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