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I figured out how to not have to wait long in the lobby of the Emergency Room. Show up with kidney stones. Last week I went around this mountain for the second time (the first time I had a kidney stone was ten years ago, but it still feels like yesterday), and when I arrived at the ER all curled up like a baby, they took me right in to the back and introduced me to the wonders of morphine.

Pain changes our perspective doesn’t it? Kidney stones hurt in the lower side portion of our back–that’s the side that I never even notice until it hurts. And it’s the same way with other areas of physical pain–we seldom notice how important a knee is until it starts to ache. Pain focuses our attention, and makes us grateful for the times that we don’t hurt.

Sometimes when I’m facing a particularly painful moment, I question God’s promises to “bless me and keep me,” and I feel like His protective covering has some holes in it. I think it’s important to remember though that if God wasn’t protecting us, we would be dead right now. Job’s story makes it clear that if Satan had his way, he wouldn’t fool around with trials and temptations–he would go straight for our jugular. God IS at work covering and preserving us, and we CAN rest in that reality.