Over the years many people have come to see me to treat
them for pain. I use massage as a
primary approach. During the history
taking portion of the intake I like to ask about their stress level. It is not uncommon for people to tell me that
they have a low level of stress.
I am often amazed at this affirmation as they talk to me
during our time together. They often
relate the death or hospitalization of close relatives, their pet just got ran
over, their mother in law is moving in, and the IRS is getting ready to audit
them.
These people may seem to deal well with what is happening
on the outside but their tight tissues often tell a different story. As a person lies on my treatment table I look
for signs that tell me that they are in a state known as Freeze, Fight, or
Flight. This is not a diagnosis – just
an observation. There are some tell tale
signs. They may be the foundation of
another post. People seem to get stuck
here.
As Christians, I believe the scripture teaches that we can
often do better than we do. Jesus said
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn
from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." This is above all a call to salvation. We are to renounce our own ways of trying to
live and cling to Christ alone. We learn
of him in Scripture alone.
We never get past this need of Christ. We need him for our salvation. We also need him daily as we live this
life. He still wants our burdens. We are told “Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be
made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” There is certainly much
more to say about this.
Christians get stressed out to. How we handle it is very important
spiritually. It may well be very
important in relation to our pain. If we
take our pain to Christ we may well learn much from it. It may draw us closer to him. Drawing near to him may well calm our
hearts. Meditating on what he has done
for us can get our eyes off of our cares.
Ministering to someone else can do this as well. There are many ways that we can handle the
causes of our stress for the sake of Christ that may well have an effect on our
pain as well. Be anxious for nothing…
