Living in Pain

Since the end of May I have had this issue in my mouth.  So, since May I have felt like one side of my face was hit with a baseball bat.  Tooth pain is never easy to deal with.  And the problem with me was that the earliest I could see a dentist around here was August 31st. 
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Tomorrow is that day!  Finally!  Oh man… I am so relieved that I can get some help on this tooth and hope that I can get a root canal and crown and put this thing behind me.

It’s crazy to endure pain, but I honestly couldn’t do anything about it.  Just be patient, wait, and pray.

But what’s crazy is that what if you were living in so much pain and suffering, and there was a way out of it, but you choose not to do anything about it.  That would be unheard of.  But think about it….

We have all done it before… or some of us are still doing it…

Sometimes we do not ever realize the pain and suffering kind of life we live.  It is disguised as a life without excitement, joy, and adventure.  Living a life that is the same thing repeatedly.  A life that is just draining our will because it is so mundane, boring, and lacks stimulation.

Occasionally, when I am doing pastoral counseling, I will be told by people that wish that their life was different.  That they wish that something more would be happening in their life. 

I always tell them… well it could be different, and you could be doing more… but it involves you trying to seek adventure, and to deviate from your everyday life.  And that is tough for anyone to do.

It is so easy to do the same thing repeatedly.  Things just get comfortable.  But sometimes we must realize that the patterns, routine, and comfort that we surround ourselves with may not be enough as we get older, go through change, or mature. 

Just when we were little babies, we eat mushy baby food, but as we get into adults, no longer do we eat mushy baby food.  Just like when we were little kids and we are taught about Jesus, God, the church, and the world, well that message gets more sophisticated as we get older, and sometimes feels complicated if we choose not to grow in our understanding of the Bible and how God works in the Bible so we can relate it to our life. 

Just be open that at some point in our life God might be telling us to change, or at least try or think something different.  Think about like how God called Moses to lead the Israelites.  Moses began his youth living a nice comfortable life in Pharoah’s palace.  Yet, Moses listened to God to tell him to lead the Israelites and to be their leaders.  I do not think that the young Moses would ever imagine that he’d be the future leader of the Israelites. 

So, I urge you all to be open to God’s voice.  Be mindful about how you are feeling.  And if something doesn’t feel right, and you just feel the lack of enjoyment in life, then think about the possible changes that need to be made.  Remember, God wants you to live a joyful life, and thankful life, and a life that you feel can feel peace.  

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