The interesting thing about my hip replacement is having to learn to walk again. With the trauma of surgery to the leg, muscles bind up in the region as they concentrate on healing. This, in turn, prevents tendons from stretching as they normally would and they begin to contract. This, in turn, puts pressure on the healthy leg to compensate and sometimes overcompensate when the whole body is trying to move forward. Pain management is essential as is the work with a physical therapist. It takes time and is not comfortable. The same is true of any family system that has endured trauma, including a church.
We have endured much trauma in our families' lives and in our church family's life of late. We have felt bound up and walked forward only with great difficulty emotionally and spiritually. This is why we are bringing to bear a number of mental health resources for children, youth and adults in our congregation. This will help us to learn how to walk again and walk with others in our healing. It takes time. The Lenten season gives us that ST (spiritual therapy) time.
We will have some unique opportunities in worship and a new class offering on March 20, 27 and April 3 to name our trauma, our grief and our hopes as a church family going back across years, and in doing so begin learning how to walk again without the handicap of a limp. It requires leaning on Christ and leaning on one another until we can stride fully by ourselves again. My prayer is that by Easter, we will be fortified to hear for ourselves Jesus' words to the paralyzed man, "Get up and walk."
See you at the ST place this Sunday,
