I still can’t quite get out of the funk I am in. The inactivity and immobility associated with the Achilles injury is starting to get to me. I am looking forward to going to the doctor on Wednesday. It’s hard to believe that I am saying that. Doctor visits aren’t usually high on my list. But right now I am just ready for the next stage of this Achilles recovery. Cast off. A little “air time” for my foot. Staples out. New cast. And hopefully a little more mobility.
I mentioned this to a wise woman on the phone tonight and she said, “Well, now you know what a pregnant woman feels like.” Apparently pregnant women are always ready for the next stage of the pregnancy…regardless of what lies ahead. I can honestly say that I never thought of it like that before.
I spent most of the past few days with my new friend in the backroom of our house, the recliner. I watched a lot of football. Read some. Surfed the internet. Worked on a family Christmas letter. And basically felt like a bum. When you are busy and working all the time, such a day sounds great. When it becomes your daily reality, then it becomes a drag.
Here are some random thoughts on my mind the past few days…
- The Saints should not be 12-0…but amazingly they are.
- Burping up the taste of fish is really gross…especially when you don’t remember eating fish. (I figured this out later. I took a fish oil supplement in the morning that apparently didn’t sit well in the stomach.)
- Pain is relative…that is why it is fruitless to compare pain with someone else.
- Kids are a lot of fun…when they are not getting on your nerves.
- Rules mean nothing when you play with a four year old.
- A great wife is worth more than a ton of riches (Proverbs 31:10).
And here are a few more thoughts with more elaboration…
Too much TV can lead to depression. I actually read that somewhere recently. I believe it. I enjoy watching football on TV. But after several hours of media overdosage, you feel like you are coming out of anesthesia. I typically do not watch much TV during the week. I have watched a lot more in the past two weeks. I can honestly say that there isn’t much that is good to watch. And even sports need to be viewed with moderation.
Depression and inactivity makes you want to watch TV. Here is the reverse side of the coin. When you are inactive and don’t have much to do (or better yet, don’t feel like doing anything), you have a greater desire to “veg” in front of the tube….which in turn makes you feel more depressed and more like doing nothing.
Thankfully, though I spent most of my time in the recliner today, I didn’t turn on the TV at all. That in itself made today a little better day. Oh, and here is the snippet on that study on TV and depression…
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard Medical School looked at the media habits of 4,142 healthy adolescents and calculated that each additional hour of TV watched per day boosted the odds of becoming depressed by 8%. (http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/03/science/sci-tv3)
Tiger Woods needs to read Ecclesiastes. Here is a man who practically has it all. $1 billion net worth. Oodles of fans. Respect across the sports world. A charmed life. A beautiful wife. Nice house. Free Cadillac Escalades. Anything he wants he can practically get. Anywhere he wants to go he can go. But in the course of a few weeks, his world has unraveled. Being the world’s greatest and richest golfer doesn’t teach you how to love…or remain faithful…or control your passions. You can have it all and still be empty…and desperate for something more…something that you won’t find in the passing pleasures of this world or the arms of a cocktail waitress.
I am reminded of two quotes by two of my favorite Christian writers…
“If I discover within myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” C.S. Lewis
“Every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God” G.K. Chesterton
Joy is learning to enjoy the simple blessings of life. Ecclesiastes has an interesting refrain throughout the book.
“I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God” (3:12-13).
Rejoice. Do Good. Eat. Drink. Enjoy the good of one’s labor. And Ecclesiastes 9:9 would add, “Live joyfully with the wife whom you love…” Interesting advice. Solomon had tried bigger and better, more wine and more wives, increased wealth and greater knowledge…and in the end, he said, “You know what? If I would have stuck to loving my wife, enjoying my kids, working honestly, doing good, and taking each day as a gift from God, then I would have been better off than I am today.”
If that’s true, then why do we keep running after things? Why do “family men” so often forsake the family? Why does the slow life oftentimes seem too slow? And why can’t I simply enjoy this “down” time without feeling down?
I am reminded of another quote. This time by Augustine. “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O God. And our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” That is true for an unbeliever as well as for a believer. Just because we believe in God doesn’t always mean that we rest in Him.
Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me. For I am gentle and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
When we come to Jesus Christ, He gives us His rest. When we follow Him daily through the highs and the lows of life, when we learn from Him daily and listen for His still quiet voice, when we trust Him daily even when we don’t always understand His ways, then we find His rest and experience it more and more in our lives.
Lord, help me to rest in You and enjoy Your simple blessings in my life.
