No Pain, No Gain

A trip to visit Kyle's family in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho with Cheryl and Jared sounded like a great idea. The plan was for me to work my regular Wednesday morning shift at the temple, catch a flight at LAX with a layover in Portland, arrive in Spokane about 6:25 p.m., and enjoy 4 days of bliss with family. That's not exactly what happened. 

On Tuesday, the day before my flight, I could barely walk because of back pain. I didn't know how I could pull off a temple shift and a trip. Thanks to much prayer, a little ibuprofen, and a restful night, my back felt a little better by morning. Having to lift my heavy suitcase gave me some concern. How was I going to lift it up into the shuttle bus at the airport? Because of some tender mercies that day, the trip was made much easier for me. For instance, the parking lot bus driver jumped out and loaded my suitcase for me.  I don't remember every having a bus driver do that for me ever before. When she told those of us on the bus to switch to the bus in front of us, once again she jumped up and took my suitcase to the other bus for me. My back really appreciated her help. Then, after checking in at the airport, I noticed that I had TSA Pre-check on my boarding pass. That meant I got to avoid standing in a very long line before going through security. Just what my back needed. It was still a long, painful trip, but it was made a little easier by these tender mercies.

I thought by next morning that my back problems would all be behind me, but that was not the case. Cheryl & I took Milo and Clara to the Splash Pad. By the end of that adventure, I was at about a pain level 9. I knew I needed some kind of medical intervention. I tried to get into a chiropractor, but the two offices we tried were closed on Thursdays.  Bummer! I was, however, able to get an appointment for massage therapy. It was one of those "hurts so good" kind of massages. She was able to give me some relief, but not total relief. She told me that my back was very inflamed and suggested that I ice it to reduce the swelling, which I did.

The next morning, I was able to get an appointment with a chiropractor who works in the building next to Kyle's practice. It turns out that my treatment by him was very beneficial. Every chiropractor I have ever been to has a very different way of treating me. I loved this Dr.'s approach. He determined that my spine was twisted and was causing extra strain on the rest of my back. Also, my bulging disc bulged even more than usual  My hip was also rotated, causing extra back strain. No wonder I was in so much pain. After the treatment was complete, my pain level had been lowered from a 9 to about a 3. It was so nice to get out of pain. I have been icing my back several times per day to keep the swelling down. I hope I can stay pain free for a very long time.

On top of all this, I got ill while in Idaho. I thought it was just allergies at first, but then it turned into a full-blown head cold. I am still suffering a week later, but am hopeful that I am on the mend and will be feeling well soon.

This experience has taught me that when we have pain, it helps us to appreciate our pain-free days a little more. When we are ill, we appreciate good health. Adversity helps us to grow. We can't appreciate the good until we have experienced the bad. As the adage says - "No pain, no gain." Bad times help us to draw closer to God, too. I need to appreciate the good times in my life more. I need to be more diligent in expressing gratitude for my tender mercies and recognize God's hand in all things. I know God is there and that he is very involved in my life. I want to express my thanks to Him for all He does for me, which is a lot! He is the sunshine of my life!