God works through the ordinary too =)

You know, sometimes health professionals do actually know what they're talking about.... Earlier this year when I went to the musculoskeletal specialist about my neck she gave me some exercises that I should do daily, and suggested that a daily 10 minute walk would also be helpful. Once in a blue moon I, albeit rather unenthusiastically, did the exercises.
Recently, Adam and I went for coffee with Lynton and Philippa, who run our university christian group, and they were asking about my neck problems. Philippa asked if there was anything I could do about my neck, and I told her about the exercises and the walk. She then asked if I did those exercises, to which I replied no, and then I realised how stupid I sounded - to be complaining about my chronic neck problems, but to not be taking the advice I had been given about how to help the problem. So i started doing the exercises, and, with a (large) push from Adam, I now do them daily. My neck is not all sunshine and lollipops (although I'm not sure that i'd want it to be...), but it is much better. Funny that.


I wonder how this can be applied to other areas of my life, and of other people's lives. For me to sit here praying for God to heal my neck, frustrated at His seeming silence for over a year, and then to be offered a way out by a medical professional and to not take it, seems like foolishness. "God has not yet given me a miracle, so I sit here and wait, and ask my friends to keep praying for my healing." Is good advice from a doctor not a form of healing?
I can apply this to depression... I could sit here and wait for that miracle for seven years, and let myself slip into a further depression from not having received healing, or I could start to note down what sets me off, what helps me out, which friends have offered me support and encouragement? Is using the friends that God has given, and the keys that He has shown me not a form of healing?
I'm sure this could be applied to situations of eating disorders, failed pregnancies, difficult marriage situations, etc... That sometimes we don't see the woods for the trees, that the blessings are mixed up in the darkness and we dont see them, or we rely completely on God for an escape to a situation that He's already provided a way out of.
Or maybe there isn't a way out right now, and we should sit tight and try to learn some lessons and show our strength of character by weathering the storm, rather than fleeing it.


I'm not sure if this is related, but I was reading a part of John Eldredge's 'Wild at Heart' yesterday, and it was describing the situation of a man who is having problems in his marriage, with a wife who is struggling, and their time together is tumultuous. This man was saying that he'd found another woman, and his time with her was peaceful, she was without problems, and was easy to manage. You can imagine who he'd rather spend his time with...
But the author was suggesting that this man should see his time with his wife as a journey, a challenge, a chance for him to step up to the mark and be her man. Be her hero. Help fight her battles with her, and be her rock when she alone can do the fighting. That his time with his wife would be far more rewarding than quiet days with his easygoing lover.

I thought that sounded cool =)
So i wonder if there's any relation? Staying and fighting your battles, or helping someone else to fight, rather than trying to flee. (Although in saying that, sometimes the best option is to flee, rather than to stand and resist) Maybe that's akin to trying to focus on the world around us, rather than continually hoping for a miracle. Thinking practically rather than just focussing on the supernatural. Yes, God is still in the business of miracles, but he also works through the everyday, mundane stuff too. I think sometimes we get so caught up in looking for the miracle, hoping for God to intercede in a big way, that we dont see what's around us, and the small-scale progress we're making. Just because it doesn't come with a flash of light doesn't mean its not from God =)
Or if you're in a crappy situation, it may not be directly from God, and He may let you remain there, but you can use your circumstances to show God what you've learnt through His influence in your life, and you can open your eyes wider to see what earthly resources God may have given you to eventually make your way out of the situation.


I think I'm twisting two issues into one, and i'm not sure if they really even go together... but hopefully it all makes sense. Anyway i just started off the post by having a laugh at my own foolishness at not listening to earthly helps, and it turned into a more serious rant.... It feels good to be back into the ranting again =)