Life Matters - August 13, 2025

I stood shivering. In the biting Great Plains wind, the driving snow of a South Dakota winter. With tears in my eyes, I thanked God for the cold, the shivering, the feel of the cold wind penetrating my thin denim jacket, my shirt, and my pants. Ok, I had also been thanking God for the cozy lights of home not far away as I walked from the shop toward the house. But right now as I stood, my attention was on the feel of cold. Yes, the feel. You see, for the better part of a decade the only way I could tell when I was cold, and getting colder, was when my joints became stiff and hard to force into a functioning mode. Much as I imagine the early onset of rigor mortis to be.

The 2011 accident, either as a result of blood on my brain stem, the brain shearing, or both, had interrupted the flow of information from nerves to brain, so messages about pain were either slow, downplayed, or missing altogether. But now? I was cold! So I stopped in my tracks, lifted my hands and my voice to the heavens in thankfulness to Almighty God. I thanked Him for my shivering in the cold! And yes, I thanked Him for the warmth of home!

I’d had a rude awakening the summer before when I stopped in at Beren’s, the local grocery store, to pick up several items for Sadie while on the way home from somewhere. Having come out with several grocery bags full, I opened the driver’s side back door of the four-door pickup and placed the groceries on the seat. Feeling quite accomplished and ready to be home I pushed the back door shut with my right hand as I reached for the front door with my left. But I stopped short of the handle. My right side wasn’t coming. As if something was caught in the door. I backed up quickly as my shocked gaze followed my right arm to the firmly shut rear door. Something was indeed caught in the door. The index finger of my right hand.

I was disappointed on several levels. We were on the 9th year of recovery. I knew the soles of my feet and my left hand were still a problem. But I thought my right hand was fully recovered. Last but not least, though I felt no pain, I assumed the finger injury would hinder the usefulness of my right hand, making it worse than my left for a while. I was right. Within a day the finger was hurting. Somewhat. Under the nail it turned black and blue and in a few more days the fingernail fell off. Fortunately, with the pressure relieved, I was able to write again. With the body’s God-given ability to heal itself the finger eventually healed. Have you ever imagined what you would look like if nothing ever healed?

Smooth seas never made competent sailors, comfort is the enemy of competence. We develop mastery through difficulty.

Surely living on this spinning orb gives us mortals many an opportunity to develop mastery of a myriad of spirit, soul, and body difficulties. Let me first remind us all, myself included, that the first place to take difficulties is to Jesus Christ, our Lord and only Savior. After we have given it to Him, He may very well have a way for us to do something about the problem. The time comes when discussion is over, it’s time to stop leaning on the shovel praying for a posthole, and start digging. That is the way of building fences. And the way of living in a God-centered reality.

Jesus never promised us a painless life. Rather He promised that, ‘’All who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’’ (II Timothy 3:12) Not might. Shall. And persecution always has some form of pain involved, either emotionally, spiritually, physically, or in the worst cases, all three.

But Jesus also, in Matthew 5:11-12, told us what to do when we are persecuted for His name’s sake; ‘’Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.’’ Let me remind us that “for my sake” includes His teachings. Rejoice, because He is good, even in the midst of persecution.

We cannot avert all pain. Some trials, such as persecutions, accidents, illnesses etc. cannot be avoided. We avoid what we can and accept the rest. And in that place of surrender, pain is a good thing. It helps us avoid freezing to death, pinching fingers in doors, avoid the damaging heat of the fire, the kettle, the grill. Pain can be a source of physical protection.

Emotional pain can be unavoidable and extremely hurtful—Jesus is The Healer. Trust Him for healing. He heals the broken-hearted by His comforting, protective presence.

Spirit pain drives us to Jesus for cleansing from a defiled conscience. As in Romans 5:3-5, ‘’…we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience experience; and experience hope. And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.’’

Life Matters!