No Pain, No Gain

I’ve been reluctant to write posts of a spiritual nature.  Lately, my personal prayer life has been weak and I haven’t been consistent in personal Bible study.  I’ll read Christian posts in various other blogs, and recognize that I don’t have the command of doctrine or writing ability to express my ideas in a sound manner.  Frankly, I’m intimidated by the thought of writing something that might hamper someone else’s faith.

But, I’ve also recognized that my own laziness has been keeping me from fortifying my own faith.  I could get up earlier each morning to concentrate on personal prayer time and Bible study.  But I haven’t.

Lately, issues have come up in my life compelling me to concentrate on my personal faith. Dave and I are at a crossroads.  We need to determine God’s will for our role in our current spiritual family.  Or, should we find a new church home altogether.

I can’t afford to be spiritually lazy any more. 

So, God has given me a gift.  A few weeks ago, literally on the way home from a particularly difficult church meeting, my back started aching in the car.  For a couple of days, the aching stuck with me most of the day.  Now, I’ve found that while the pain is strong right away in the morning, the sooner I get out of bed and move around, the sooner I’m feeling better.  Sitting with an ice pack on my back, while reading the Bible and having prayer time, also helps.  Usually by mid-morning, if I haven’t done anything too strenuous, the pain has mostly subsided.

Perhaps I should see my doctor or chiropractor to have my back checked.  A new mattress would probably also be a good idea.  For right now, I’m holding off on that.  If I was more disciplined, I wouldn’t need this reminder to tend to my spiritual needs.  For now, though, while I need this pain to help combat my weaknesses, I’ll use it.