“We’ll see you on the other side” were the last words from my anesthetist….then, “Hi, Honey”, the familiar voice of an angel..wait, no, better…that’s my wife. Whew, made it!
My recent left shoulder operation, an Arthroscopy Subacromial Decompression (fix one of the four tendons that was torn and calcified), is not meant to be a big deal. In the scheme of things, probably not – unless you have it done to you. Four Weeks off work, 6 weeks to no pain and 2-3 months of physio to get it doing what it is meant to do – work.
I’m in my 6th day of recovery. Drugs are good. I’ve weaned myself off all the hard stuff, like morphine etc. Today I’ve got some level of clarity and able to sustain some time thinking clearly without wanting to nod off to sleep. Although it has taken a few attempts to complete this blog.
How remarkable is the body! Our Maker is very creative. The body’s ability to repair and recover is incredible. I recently received some Electron Microscope shots – here is one:
They look like little cinnamon lollies here, but they’re actually the most common type of blood cell in the human body – red blood cells (RBCs). These biconcave-shaped cells have the tall task of carrying oxygen to our entire body; in women there are about 4 to 5 million RBCs per micro liter (cubic millimeter) of blood and about 5 to 6 million in men. People who live at higher altitudes have even more RBCs because of the low oxygen levels in their environment.
If these little guys didn’t do their job, we die.
My tendon wouldn’t work and my body was limited in what it could do with my left arm. I didn’t realise the importance of that one tendon until it stopped working the way it should.
But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
1 Corinthians 12:18-27
Today, I contemplated on three things:
1. What is my part, no matter how big or small, in the Body of Christ? And am I ‘working’ the way I should? Am I functioning the way I am intended to function, or am I disabling the Body?
2. I need to take some time to appreciate the small, seemingly insignificant, things. I took for granted showering and dressing myself, cutting up my own meal to eat, bear hugging my loved ones, and did not realise the importance of that one arm. I have come to realise that I need to look after it just as I do other parts of the body…maybe appreciate it more before I am forced to appreciate it.
3.More importantly, who are the ones unseen, like the Red Blood cells, or that tendon; heros of the faith that God sees and will reward. We can see them too…if we look carefully. And, we can appreciate them too…maybe encourage, nurture, build up and strengthen before we loose them.
Is it time for you to consider these things…or will you be like me and put it off until you are thrust into the position of contemplation?