The Pain of Healing

Dear Friends,

Our bodies are a gift of God, full of remarkable abilities. We see, hear, run, dance, think, sing, find ourselves surprised. We bleed through a variety of causes. All these functions and many more are contained in our one remarkable body, in companionship with other bodies multiplied in our world.

We don’t know life apart from our bodies which grow to adulthood, robust and capable, until they begin to diminish as we move deeper into elderhood and old age. We either treasure our bodies, such as they are, or we are less than pleased with how they look and feel.

Body-li-ness is inescapable.

In Genesis, God created our earliest ancestors with bodies. One remarkable thing about Jesus and Mary, His mother, is that both are within their bodies in heaven, a prelude and a hope for our future when the end-times come.

It is worthwhile beyond imagining to keep our bodies as safe, free of illness and whole as we can. But we know this doesn’t happen. Thank God for our medical communities with all their competencies made stronger through research and development of resources and methodologies.  

On May 2, I had left knee replacement – a long time in coming. Arthritis had done its worst, and for quite some time before surgery, I had experienced the pain of deterioration. I walked strangely, felt tired, and found the daily events of life challenging. Since the day of surgery, I have found myself experiencing the pain of healing, and now, seven weeks out, even that is gradually fading away.

But the reason I am telling you this is because there can be faith lessons in an event like surgery and the process of healing. Here are a few. You may have others to add to the list.

Healing sometimes requires the excision of a faulty part by another person working in a team of people. Five hours after surgery, two staff members escorted me down the hall as I walked tentatively, somewhat untrusting of my new knee. More “on my feet” time came often after that. Physical therapists worked with me several times a week on stretching and balance, and in between times, I was told to increase my “numbers” for each exercise. That took work. Then God asked me, “Can these bones come to life?” “Lord God,” I answered, “you alone know that” (Ezekiel 37.3). I was not alone in the night with the pain of healing, and I was not alone in the day.

Since my surgery, I have met a, continuing to grow, number of people who have had joint replacements. They walk straighter, stand taller, move with ease. They give me courage to walk the talk. I have found myself accepting the open door strangers have offered as they taught me well.

In all of this the Lord has been present. “I will put my spirit in you that you may live,” says the Lord (Ezekiel 37.14).

So, if you are pondering whether to trade in the pain of disintegration for the pain of healing, take heart. The future may find you dancing the dance of the Holy Spirit again.

~Sister Joan Sobala