I’m sitting here at the office of Janet’s rheumatologist waiting while Janet has her monthly infusion of her Rheumatoid Arthritis meds. Thankfully, although she has suffered for years and has many different treatments, her doctors have finally landed on a new drug that seems to give her relief and has stopped the flare that she has had over the past year or two.
And when the infusion is completed, she then needs her shot for minimizing loss of bone density (every 6 months) and then there is an update with the doc. This isn’t a unique day. Janet and I find ourselves sitting in waiting rooms more than we used to and we have come to the conclusion that it’s just part of growing older.
I remember Janet’s father, during his final illness, lamented the amount of time that he spent in doctor’s offices and now, years later, I kind of understand. Of course, we have been blessed throughout the years. Not that we have been free of health concerns, but we have been fortunate to have a group of doctors and other health professionals who are truly mission driven and work cooperatively as a team to provide integrated healthcare solutions for Janet, me and the rest of our family.
I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have filled out questionnaires about pain, health, exercise or a myriad of other medical concerns. In fact, as I sit here in the waiting room, I am watching a number of patients, mostly older, answering questions and drawing pictures related to their pain levels and how they feel at different times of the day. I have watched Janet do this many times.
As I have had a front row seat to different problems in our family, including kidney disease, RA, stomach issues, strokes, MS, kidney stones, gall bladder and ruptured tendons, I have come to realize that chronic pain goes with the territory much of the time. When I was younger, pain was something to be avoided at all costs, yet I have seen Janet deal with arthritic pain for many years, both osteoarthritis and RA. She deals with pain on a daily basis and really never complains. I have heard people speak about embracing their pain and I have seen it firsthand with patients visiting the various doctors we frequent.
Sometimes, I think that it would be more efficient to just let the doctors know if a pain level has changed. That’s not the way it’s done, though. That’s probably a good thing. It’s appropriate to re-visit the questions each time we go to the doctor. Because it causes each of us to evaluate where we are and to look at every issue that could have changed.
It also occurs to me that we should fill out a mental questionnaire from time to time to evaluate our spiritual health. It’s easy to take things for granted, but a spiritual inventory is a helpful tool to use. Are we closer to God than we were last year? Are we making progress in our devotional times with the Lord? Are we more compassionate and do we extend grace? Do we volunteer, teach, mentor or work with the poor and marginalized people in our communities? How do we stack up? Moreover, what can we do to close the gap this year between where we are and where God wants us to be?
Our verse for tonight is from one of my favorite psalms. The author of the psalm, David, is acknowledging the omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence of God and is amazed at how well God knows him. Near the end of the psalm, David implores God to search him and see if there is anything that needs to be worked on. David begs God, in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
My encouragement this evening is that God wants us to examine ourselves from time to time and ask difficult questions. My prayer is that we will seek the Lord and ask Him to check us out, to examine our hearts, and to fix anything that needs to be worked on. Then, that we will ask Him to lead us in the way everlasting. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…