How’s Your Limp?

I have journeyed through my life with a lot of physical pain. I actually don’t have many memories of times in my life when I didn’t have pain. Because it’s so present, I really don’t give it much thought. When the pain is very intense, I realize that it is never really gone. I’ve tried all sorts of things to make the pain go away. Most things work for a little while, but then I’m back to normal (pain).

So, over the past year or so, I’ve had trouble with my right hip. Sometimes it’s ok and other times I can hardly walk on it without feeling like someone is stabbing me with a knife. A few weeks ago, it got so bad  that it was even hurting when I was laying down and the pain was constant. I developed a new way to walk during this time, because my normal way was too painful. I figured out that if I turned my foot out, sort of like a duck, I could manage a step without severe pain. If you saw me walking, you would see one foot walking normally, and one foot duck-style.

Straight. Duck. Straight. Duck.

You get the idea.

A few weeks ago, I went for a fairly long walk with my girls to the park and to the grocery store. I was a little nervous about this, due to my hip, but ventured out anyway.

Now, God and I have been working on this hip. He has shown me some very specific things that are causing the trouble. As I’ve followed his instructions, he has shown me that my hip would get better.

While on the way home with the girls, I was doing my new walk. Straight, duck, straight, duck… My hip was hurting even with my special limp. I decided to try to walk properly: straight, straight, straight, straight.

You know what happened?

I didn’t feel any pain!! My hip was all better and my limp was actually causing the pain. I had already been healed, but because I was still limping, I didn’t even know!

How many times have we done this in different parts of our life? God loves to bring restoration. Sometimes when he brings the restoration, we don’t even know because we are still limping.

Say he heals our heart from a breach of trust, yet we continue to keep our guard up and miss out on healthy relationships He sends our way.

We grew up in an environment of lack. Even though He is fully providing for us, we still hoard and miss out on the generosity we could be sharing with others.

There are a thousand examples I could list of ways we are not fully walking in God’s healing. The sad thing about this, is we keep feeling pain that has already been removed. We don’t live fully in all that God desires for us to experience.

We miss out.

Not because God isn’t giving, but because we are not receiving.

I pray that we would become aware of areas that God has already healed or provided for that we have not received. I pray that we would walk upright and with strength. Straight, straight, straight, straight.

May His blessings pour out over you as you open your heart, soul, mind and body to receive them!