Thank GOD for pain, really...

Did you know that circulation in a diabetic can be so poor, they are told to check their feet for sores daily? They don't feel their feet sometimes. My husband knew a diabetic man who used to work the chain gang at the Bears football games. The field was so hot one Sunday, he burnt his feet badly; he couldn't feel the heat through his shoes. If only he had felt the pain...

Last Sunday I received a call at church that Mom had done something to her foot or ankle or something. I called her and decided to take her to the ER, mostly because she sounded desperate on the phone. It turns out she had fallen/tripped on a step the evening before and her foot began hurting in the night. The x-rays revealed a fracture in her foot. We were refered to the orthopedist for follow up. We went to the same doctor we saw for her shoulder. Apparently, she fractured a metatarsal bone in her foot and according the doctor it takes "forever" to heal. He gave her a boot to wear, prescribed a walker and MORE physical therapy (6 more weeks to be exact!). Unbelieveable.

The trouble I'm having is that Mom's foot no longer hurts.
"Why do I have to wear this boot?"
"How long do I have to wear this boot?"
"I don't want to use the walker, why do I need it?"
"MY FOOT DOESN'T EVEN HURT"

She needs to do this stuff to preserve the current alignment of her foot.I'm convinced if her foot would just hurt, she would be much willing to follow the doctor's order.

So I've learned the value of pain. I guess I already knew it, but pain alerts us to a problem, it pinpoints its exact location, and it reminds us to be careful. Physical pain, or even emotional pain, gets our attention and allows us the opportunity to fix whatever is broken. Even the pain in dealing with this diagnois reminds me to "TAKE CARE". I can't find a way to erase the pain, but I can seek the One who created the alarm system in the first place. If this pain brings me to the feet of God, it can't be all bad.

So I thank God for the pain...