I’ve had friends with arm and shoulder issues in the past. Dislocations, rotator cuff issues, and frozen shoulder. But I never thought it would happen to me.
One day I was reaching inside my puppy’s crate to straighten the bedding. Isn’t she cute – her name is Belle.
But then I felt a pull on my shoulder that ended in a muscle cramp. After that for the next couple of weeks when I performed certain movements, the shoulder would pull and cramp up. Because of this, I thought I would just take a week to baby it a little and give it a chance to heal itself.
Oh boy, was I wrong. You never baby a shoulder.
Now it’s frozen up with adhesions and ligament issues, requiring extensive physical therapy and a cortisone injection. I could barely lift it at all or even move it. I’m sure some of you have been through this, but for me to have a frozen shoulder when I thought I was doing the right thing is very discouraging. What’s worse is that the physical therapy for it is very painful. You must stay on top of the exercises they give you to unfreeze it or face worsening symptoms. And the method is very painful, to say the least.
I often think as I go through these exercises and my shoulder condition that my joint has been put out of place like Jacob suffered. I was only doing the normal things in life. I thought I was doing the right thing, and come to find out I made it a hundred times worse.
But even if things don’t work out, it’s important to keep going. And realize that everything still works together for good in ways we think not. It’s God’s promise.
I’m hoping the shoulder will feel better soon as I have a big hike planned a month from now (more on that in another blog). For now, I’m doing painful exercises and trying to look on the bright side. At least I can do some hiking in the woods. But for activities like trying to reach up to a cupboard to pull out a glass or even putting a shirt on, it’s a different story.
But rejoice in the small things, even if they’re not very big right now. With each new day, look forward to God’s healing touch in your life. This way you can truly live from glory to glory.
