Friday, July 1, 2016

back pain

I've had some wicked back pain the past few weeks; it's interfered with my sleep and my sitting. Recently, it's moved to my right hip; I can' stand for very long, and I sometimes limp when I walk. About the only thing it hasn't interfered with is biking.

The pain in the hip reminded me of the story of Jacob at the Jabbok creek, from Genesis 32:

22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

I've decided to call the back pain "Jacob". Jacob's not too intrusive right now, but he REALLY didn't like the humidity the other day. 



1 comment:

  1. I love the idea of giving your back pain a name. I named mine Jacob and I find that when I tell my back to stop acting up, it seems to work. I go through my day now telling Jacob to stop because he’s hurting me, and for some reason it feels like the pain just disappears for a while.

    ReplyDelete