In 2005, I was diagnosed with Deteriorating Disc Disease, which affects my spinal column which affects every other part of my body. It's not just back pain, it’s body pain as well. For the past 15 years now, I’ve suffered from this body pain. I have bad days and worse days. It has been pretty severe at times. I never imagined I could ever hurt as bad as I have because of my back. I’ve said many times that back pain is the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life, even worse than all the bicycle wrecks and car wrecks I’ve had. I don’t say this for sympathy, but to make a point.
One morning, I woke up with what I thought was an earache. As I moved around and started talking, I became aware that the pain was actually in my jaw, and my face was hurting around my eye, nose, and cheek. In fact, the whole left side of my face, and head were hurting. I finally realized I was suffering from a toothache. The pain was excruciating, so I called the dentist's office.
A few years earlier, I had been diagnosed with a heart murmur, and the doctor told me that I would have to take a round of antibiotics before I could have any dental work done. I told the dentist this, and they gave me a round to take for a few days. I think it was 3 days if I remember correctly. So I had to suffer a few days with that pain before I could get the bad tooth out. I remember telling my wife that the pain I was feeling from my bad tooth was worse than any back pain I had ever had. I would rather have back pain than a toothache.
Flash forward several years to November 2020. I started hurting in my lower right abdomen. I was sure I had pulled a muscle picking up something heavy at work, so I tried to take it easy and be very careful when picking up things so it would heal.
A week or so passed, and I wasn’t getting any better. In fact, the pain was getting worse. Then I started worrying that it was more than a pulled muscle. Maybe it was a hernia, or perhaps it was something worse. After looking on the internet to diagnose what it might be, I was more confused and worried than ever. I finally decided to go to the doctor and see what was going on and maybe get it fixed. I made an appointment. Of course, it was two weeks later when I got to see her. By that time I was in a lot of pain. I couldn’t even cough or sneeze without terrible pain. I was having to ask for help at work and I was taking a lot of pain medicine.
The day of the doctor’s visit finally arrived. After several rounds of tests and blood work, the doctor said she thought it might be a kidney stone so she prescribed some medicine to help me pass it, along with some pain medicine and a funnel to pee in to catch the stone when it comes out.
I still wasn’t convinced that was all that was going on with me. The severity of the pain and the large area affected couldn't be caused by a kidney stone, so I went to the hospital and got some X-rays done, and sure enough, they said they found a kidney stone.
Now to my point; I’ve once again found another pain that is worse than back pain. I hope and pray that I never, ever have another kidney stone. I’m hoping, and praying right now that it will hurry up and come out.
A lady at work said her husband had one, and she told me the terrible pain he went through before passing the stone and said that’s what I had to look forward to. I didn’t know if she was trying to help me or trying to scare me to death. Lol. Then she said it would be alright and would be over soon. Then she looked at me, and said, “This too shall pass.” That’s a famous line of comfort often spoken when people are going through a hard time. I appreciated her comforting words, and then I got the joke. This too shall pass. Hahaha.
Later, I was thinking about that line of comfort. It means that the bad things that we’re going through won’t last forever. I’ve lived by that philosophy for several years now. That’s how I made it through those days with that terrible toothache and the way I make it through all the pain caused by my damaged backbones, and I’ll make it through this pain caused by this kidney stone by realizing that it won’t always be this way. I won't always be in pain.
One day Jesus will return, and give us our new bodies, and we’ll never have to suffer from pain again. We’ll be free from the tortures of this life, and we’ll live forever; no more pain, and no more tears. I’m looking forward to that day, and I hope you are too. When you hurt and suffer from pain, just remember that no matter what you’re going through, it will not be forever. You will have relief someday if you’re a born-again child of God. If you haven’t trusted Jesus as your Savior and had your sins forgiven, then I invite you to do that today. Don’t wait until you get to doing better, or get yourself cleaned up. You’ll never do it. Come to Jesus just as you are, and he will clean you up. He said in the Bible that he’s the only way to be saved. Today is the day of salvation. We’re not promised tomorrow, so do it today. Jesus is waiting.
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