It has been 6 months since my surgery and I hope that next week my doctor will let me begin to jog, start physical therapy and begin to lift some light weights.  This week I am travelling for my work.  I had to be at the airport at 4:30 am in order to get to my destination so it was a long day.  The flight was two and a half hours long, it was crowded and I was not able to get up and stretch so I was pretty stiff by the time the plane touched down.  The place to pick up the rental car was offsite which meant I needed to pull my suitcase and laptop bag to a shuttle pick up area for a ride to the rental car center.  The shuttle pick up place wasn’t a half mile away but it seemed like it.  When I got there, the shuttle was tall with 4 large steps and nobody was getting off the shuttle to help me load my bag…probably because I look so strong, even with the back brace…just sayin’.

Anyway, the rental car place was huge!  There were about 10 different companies set up there and the place had a 3 story indoor parking garage that was enormous.  My car was on the far end of the lot so I probably did end up dragging that suitcase AND laptop bag a half mile.  The result was more exercise than I have done in 6 months.  So you guessed it, by the middle of the night I had some muscles aching.  My shoulders and lats were sore.  My middle back once again was tight and sore.  My lower back and hips felt fine but those other areas did not feel so great.  Even though I was tired I could not sleep.

When I cannot sleep due to back pain I have developed a routine.  I stretch a little.  I lay flat on my back and place my heels on the bed and stretch my hamstrings.  I also stretch my shoulders.  I alternately tighten and relax my shoulders, deltoids, and lats.  Those routines always seem to help lessen the stiffness and the aches.  And most importantly, when I cannot sleep there is one more thing I do.  I pray.

I talk to the Lord.  Sure I ask Him to help me sleep, but I also tell Him thank you for the blessings in my life.  I let Him know how grateful I am for my wife, kids, grandkids and friends.  I tell him thank you for my ministry and my job.  And I ask Him to give me wisdom and discernment for the things that are going on in my life.  I ask Him if there is anything He wants to say to me.  He talks a lot to me in those times that I cannot sleep.  It reminds me of what David said in Psalm 16:7

I will bless the LORD who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.   Psalm 16:7

When I stop to think about it, it seems like some of those times have been real times of blessing.  While I am looking forward to the day that my back is fully recovered and I am able to lug a suitcase around airports without any aches and pains, and while I do like my sleep, I hope that I never get to a point in my life where I don’t have those midnight chat sessions with my Lord and Savior.

If you would like to know more about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you can send me an email directly at pastorpstephens@aol.com