If you have read any part of my blog, you would have read that I have undergone 5 surgeries on my right ankle. Each time, it seems to get harder and harder to get myself back up and moving or even want to move. Moving causes pain and while I know and have learned that it is only through pain that one heals, honestly it gets harder and harder to want to work through the pain.
The past 8 days I have had severe pain if I move around, so to avoid the pain I stayed in bed and just went back to basics to relieve the pain: RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). It was worked somewhat and slowly I keep doing a bit more each day - progressing from total non-weight bearing to balance weight bearing with crutches to going to the bathroom using just the crutches even if it is just a few times a day. It hurts but I am working through it and increasing the number of times I do it each day.
Today's Lenten sermon reminded me of what Jesus went through from being crucified to having a crown of thorns hammered into His head to carrying the Cross through the streets to being nailed on the cross and ending with dying on the cross. Kinda puts what I am going through into perspective. How did He do it? Through His faith.
I realized that although in the past 2 weeks that I have hopefully been physically healing, I had forgotten that I needed to boost my healing spiritually. The relationship between religion and health is real. Spiritual healing is not a substitute for any medical treatment or a surgeon's skill. It is not just positive thinking either but when one is sick we do need more positive thinking than we usually manage to have. Positive thinking is as much a vital part of healing as doing all the physical things. Some people erroneously think that spiritual healing will bring them relief from pain or freedom from a handicap. But just as praying does not get you into heaven, it will not be reflected in an outward physical sign.
Instead positive thinking will have an overall positive effect on your physical health. The Mayo Clinic says that when you use positive thinking, it helps you handle problems in a more positive way. Positive thinking can support healing in a number of ways: it fights depression and anxiety and allows you to build up healthy coping skills. When the body is under less stress, it is able to better focus its energy and efforts on healing. Positive healing also strengthens immunity, which helps fight certain illnesses. Positive thinking should be used on a daily basis to have the maximum effect on healing.
The affirmations that are the most effective are the ones that you compose yourself. If you write your own, you will believe in them and they will have an effect on you emotionally. When you can actually ‘feel' your affirmation, not just utter or read them, their total impact increases immensely. Always affirm in the present tense, not the future tense.
Here are just a few of my personal affirmations since some are highly personal:
1. I always receive more than what I need.
2. I am very fortunate to work at what I love to do.
3. I am a confident and positive person.
4. If I make mistakes, I am able to give myself the benefit of the doubt.
5. I am surrounded by love.
6. Everything is getting better every day.
And yes, even my affirmations change daily, depending on what I need that day.
